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At least 22 people killed in stampede during charity handout in Bangladesh

We know this much so far about Harper Lee’s new book: Atticus Finch is 72 and suffering from rheumatoid arthritis; Scout is a grown woman who has a suitor most anxious to marry her.

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DHAKA, BANGLADESH (CNN) – A rush to receive donated clothes resulted in a stampede in central Bangladesh that killed at least 20 people on Friday, police said.

Police said up to 1,500 people had massed outside the chewing tobacco factory at around 4:45 am (2245 GMT on Thursday) after the plant owners had announced they would distribute free clothes to poor people in accordance with Islamic ritual. “Most of the dead are poor and emaciated women”, Mymensingh police chief Moinul Haque told AFP, putting the number of injured at four.

The footage from the site also showed scenes of utter devastation, with hundreds of blood-spattered sandals abandoned at the gate of the factory.

Another 30 were injured and rushed to a hospital in Mymensingh, a town 115 kilometers (70 miles) north of the capital, Dhaka, said police officer Kamrul Islam.

Police say at least 22 people killed in stampede during charity handout in Bangladesh.

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to an end, the faithful perform ‘Zakat, ‘ or an act of charity.

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“As the gate was opening, everybody ran towards it, pushing and shoving each other and then they started falling”, AFP quoted a witness as saying, adding, “Once one person fell to the ground, another 15 to 20 people fell, too”.

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