DADU: A total of 16 devotees visiting the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar to take part in his 764th Urs celebrations died in various incidents of heatstroke, stampede and drowning over past five days.

The three-day Urs drew to an end on Saturday evening when Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah laid a wreath on the grave of the saint.

According to the man in-charge of the Sehwan Edhi Centre, Ghulam Sarwar Shaikh, heatstroke, stampede and drowning left 16 people dead from May 24 to 28. He said 12 bodies were sent to their native city/town/village and four unclaimed ones were buried at the Lal Bagh graveyard in Sehwan Sharif.

He identified the heatstroke victims’ names, age and the area they belonged to as Dili Jan, 60, (Paka Channa), Arshad, 50, (Lahore), Papi, 45, (Multan), Mohammad Ashiq, 65, (Sahiwal), on-duty sub-inspector Malik Ghulam Hussain, 55, (Karachi), Azmat, 16, (Talti), Ghulam Sarwar, 60, (Sadiqabad), Ghulam Qasim, 40, (Muzaffargharh), Bibi Shiran, 45, and Allah Ditto, 55, (Jalalpur). Three other heatstroke victims remained unidentified, he said.

Mr Shaikh said that 32-two-year old Baqir Ali, a resident of Uch Sharif, was burnt to death when a a locally-made cracker exploded beside him. Another man, identified as Syed Munazam Abbas, was attacked and killed by his opponents, he added.

The body of a 17-years-old unknown person fished from the Simm Naullah near Sehwan was buried at the Lal Bag graveyard in Sehwan.

On Saturday evening, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah attended the closing events of the Urs. He along with his special assistant for Auqaf Senator Abdul Qayyum Soomro, Senator Aajiz Dhamrah, Hyderabad Commissioner Shahid Pervaiz, Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner Munawwar Mahisar, DIG Khadim Rind and others offered Fateha and spoke to people gathered there.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2016