Two women trampled to death as thousands attempt to enter Mandalay passport office

Two women were killed in a stampede involving thousands of people at the office issuing passports in central Mandalay on Monday morning. The deceased were identified as Khin Myo Aye, 52, and Khine Wai, 39. Another 50-year-old woman, Htay Htay Win, suffered a broken leg when she was trampled by the rush of people queuing for passports. “All three were sent to the hospital and two died on arrival,” an officer in a local social welfare group said. The office, located in Aungmyay Thazan Township, only allows around 2,000 people to submit passport applications daily. However, nearly 5,000 people had queued overnight on Sunday, hoping to be among those allowed to the front of the line, creating a rush which led to the stampede when the office opened the following morning. The military council changed the passport application system from a token-based system to a queue system last December. A 30-year-old Mandalay man said that thousands of people were lining up nightly, hoping to be among those able to submit their applications to obtain a passport that would allow them to leave Myanmar. “The crowds are massive. People with heart and lung conditions and old people shouldn’t go there. They could get injured. Stampedes have been happening quite frequently,” he told Myanmar Now. He added that the new queuing system allowed agents and office staff to abuse the process and sell queue numbers on the black market, making it hard for others to fairly obtain a place in the line. Numbers between one and 30 sell for 700,000 to 800,000 kyat (US$383-$381), the man said. “That’s not all; you also have to bribe the staff inside the office to speed the process up. I myself queued for four days to no avail,” he explained. People queuing at the passport office in Aungmyay Thazan Township (Supplied) A woman from Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Region who is preparing to move to Japan commented that obtaining a passport is especially difficult for those in rural townships. “People from the city arrive at the office at around 1am, park their motorcycles and queue and wait,” she said. “Those who came from afar have to pay 5,000 kyat per person to stay the night in a monastery. Everyone was waiting in groups; even the alleyways were filled.” “People no longer had any patience left after waiting for so long. Everyone’s blood was boiling to the point that they didn’t care that the authorities were threatening them with guns.” Young people across Myanmar have been making preparations to leave the country since the military’s announcement this month that it would start enforcing a conscription law enacted by a previous regime in 2010. Under the law, all men aged 18 to 35 and all women aged 18 to 27 are required to perform up to two years of military service.

Two women trampled to death as thousands attempt to enter Mandalay passport office

Some 5,000 people waited overnight for a chance to be one of 2,000 people allowed to submit an application for a passport that would let them leave Myanmar

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