Two women were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Myanmar passport office in Mandalay on Monday, as several thousand people attempted to squeeze into the line allowing them to apply for passports to leave the country following the imposition of military conscription for the first time.
The number of passport applicants has surged since the regime announced on Feb. 10 it is imposing mandatory military service, a Yangon-based passport and visa agent told The Irrawaddy.
A resident of Mandalay who lives near the city’s passport office there said: “Nealy 5,000 people are lining up daily [for passports], but only 200 applications are accepted.”
There was no limit on the number of passport applications given out before the conscription announcement, residents of Mandalay said.
The women were killed as people pushed and shoved to get into the small space available for the application line, the source who lives near the passport office said.
The stampede erupted at about 2 a.m., residents of the city said.
Three women lost consciousness after suffocating in the crowd at the passport office in Aungmyaythazan Township and they were rushed to Mandalay General Hospital by the Nandaw Shae social organization, a local charity.
The two women who died were 52 and 39 years old, while a 53-year-old woman is still receiving treatment, the charity said.
The number of passport applications has been limited to 2,500 a day in Yangon and 200 a day in Mandalay. People start lining up at midnight to get application forms to apply for a passport, Mandalay residents say.
They said that besides would-be applicants and passport agents, “line sitters” are among the first to arrive and they sell their places in the line for 200,000 to 800,000 kyats (about US$ 55 to $220) depending on how close they are.
Long lines are also occurring at the Thai Embassy in Yangon, which has imposed a limit on the number of visas it grants to 400 a day.