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| Rescue workers moved more than dozen unconscious women towards hospital from the garment factory |
Karachi: Complete chaos and panic was witnessed as ambulance after ambulance with unconscious and semi-conscious women workers of a garment factory in Karachi's Landhi area started pulling up in front of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre's emergency section on Monday morning.
More than dozen women workers became unconscious after one another in a garment factory The doctors have to administer injections to help calm them down.
According to a young worker, Shagufta Naz, “I saw a big black ghost in the washroom. It resembled a shadow but was far bigger than any shadow I have ever seen,”
She while lying on a stretcher further told, “For days, we could hear the mysterious sound of a man sobbing in the washroom. We couldn't explain it. But today we saw him too and he wasn't an earthly being,”
One girl was so frustrated that she even couldn't even remember her own name. “I am Suhee,” she said before her mother reminded her that her name was Shahina. “Oh yes, I am Shahina,” she said finally.
When asked what had happened to her, she said: “I didn't see anything. But one or two girls who went to the washroom screamed for help from inside. Then one came running out and started strangling herself with her own chador. Suddenly even I felt that someone was strangling me. Then all the girls on our floor too couldn't seem to breathe. They complained of a choking kind of feeling.”
She continued:
“One of my colleagues had also seen something sinister in the washroom after which she fell unconscious and was sent home. She didn't come to work for several days but when she did, she was not herself. Then she saw something again and didn't come back. We heard later that she died a day before Eid.
Another girl in the washroom at the same time when she saw the ghost also complained of the same. She has also not returned. Now we hear that she is seriously ill, too.”
When asked if there was only one washroom for the girls in the entire factory building, Shahina said: “No, but that shadow was also present in the one downstairs.
“We got seven women first at 11.25am and then between 12.05pm and 12.50pm more followed. The ambulances transporting them here had more than just one or two women. Each pickup had several loaded and stuffed inside like sheep or goats. And these emergency services weren't even waiting to let us bring out the stretchers for them. All were quickly carried inside by them.
The head of JPMC emergency department, Dr Seemin Jamali told media that, “The women were flapping their arms and batting their eyelids as our doctors tried to figure out what was the matter with them. Their vitals parameters were fine. Their oxygen saturation tests came out normal. Had it really been carbon monoxide poisoning, they could have all died almost immediately.
According to Prof Dr Afridi that it was a case of mass hysteria which was created due to our belief in the existence of ghosts, Jinn and other supernatural existence. What we have here is a case or mass hysteria and possession syndrome.
Doctors also complained about patients five to six attendants or family members were scaring them further by believing whatever they were saying instead of helping to calm them down.
Meanwhile, the family members of the victims are of opinion that they should bring their patients to some religious person of exorcist for better treatment.