 Scores more reportedly injured as hundreds of desperately poor people tried to get their hands on free clothing in the northern city of Mymensingh 
 
 A stampede in Bangladesh has left at least 23 people dead as hundreds of poor people tried to get free clothing during a charity handout, police said. The stampede in the northern city of Mymensingh was caused when crowds tried to force their way into a businessman’s home through a small gate after massing outside before dawn for the handout, local police chiefs said. Television footage from the site showed scenes of utter devastation, with hundreds of torn and blood-spattered sandals abandoned at the gate of the chewing tobacco factory, which is located around 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Most of the dead are poor and emaciated women," Mymensingh police chief Moinul Haque said, putting the number of injured at more than 50.  Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Police said they expected the death toll to rise 
 
 At least 23 people have been killed and 50 injured in a stampede during a clothes giveaway in Mymensingh city in northern Bangladesh, police say. Police officer Main Ul Haque said: "We have found 20 bodies, and the number will increase as many of the bodies were taken from the spot by their family members." A witness told the bdnews24 website that the stampede began when a number of people fell to the ground as a melee erupted. View gallery Bangladeshis grieve their relatives killed in a stampede at a charity distribution event during the … 
 
 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock over the tragedy, according to the state-run BSS news agency. - Factory owner arrested - 
 
 Police and local officials said that the owner of the factory and six other people have been arrested for failing to ensure public safety. Police told AFP news agency that 1,500 people had gathered outside the chewing tobacco factory at about 04:45 local time (22:45 GMT Thursday) after the owners announced they would distribute free clothing, as zakat, or a charitable contribution. Rich Bangladeshis often distribute free clothes to poor people during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began on 19 June.
– What should have been a generous charity event turned deadly today when hundreds of people stormed a free clothing giveaway, leaving at least 23 dead and dozens injured in Bangladesh, the AP reports. A senior police official says that toll could rise, since "some people had taken the bodies of their relatives before police arrived," AFP reports. Based on witness and police reports cited in the AP and BBC, between 1,000 and 1,500 people had gathered before sunrise outside of where the handout was set to take place. Some reports say the site was a chewing tobacco factory compound, while the AP reports it was the home of a tobacco businessman. It's also unclear based on various reports whether the crowd forced their way through the gates or if the rush happened when the gates were opened. What is clear is the devastation that took place once the stampede started. The BBC notes TV images showed "hundreds of blood-spattered sandals lying at the factory gate," while AFP reports of relatives rushing through the entrance to find the bodies of loved ones. Such giveaways are common during the holy month of Ramadan, when wealthy families offer up their hand-me-downs to the less fortunate, and similar stampedes have happened in the past, the Guardian notes. PM Sheikh Hasina offered prayers and "profound sympathy" to the victims' families, while the country's religious affairs ministry said it would be giving around $125 each to the families of the deceased for funeral costs. Officials told the news agency the factory owner and at least five others have been arrested for not arranging for public safety. (Bangladesh factories have been plagued with issues.)