Summary So far Pakistan has not requested for UN held as death toll in Karachi heat wave crossed 1000.
NEW YORK (Web Desk) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed sympathies with the victims of the deadly heat wave in Karachi and offered assistance to cope with the serious situation, the Radio Pakistan reported.
A spokesman of the World Body Chief told newsmen at a briefing in New York that so far Pakistan has not requested for UN assistance.
The spokesman, however, said that the United Nations would respond positively if a request comes from Pakistan to deal with the situation.
The killer heat wave that struck southern Pakistan last weekend is slowly subsiding but the toll was still climbing.
Mortuaries and gravediggers in Karachi, Pakistan s largest city and economic hub, have struggled to keep up with the flow of bodies since the scorching temperatures began last weekend.
Hospitals have been on a crisis footing and dedicated heatstroke treatment centres have been set up around the city to treat the tens of thousands affected by heatstroke and dehydration.
According to figures collected by AFP from hospitals around the city, a total of 1,079 people have died, though the pace of the deaths has slowed as the weather has cooled in the last two days.
Karachi hospitals have treated nearly 80,000 people for the effects of heatstroke and dehydration, according to medical officials.
After days of temperatures hovering at highs in the mid-40s Celsius (around 110 Fahrenheit), sea breezes and cloud cover have brought some respite to the port city in the last two days.
The crisis comes a month after neighbouring India suffered its own deadly heatwave which killed more than 2,000 people.
