Pensioner looking for cheap goods killed in Venezuela supermarket crush

An 80-year-old Venezuelan woman died, possibly from trampling, in a scrum outside a state supermarket selling subsidised goods, the opposition and media said.

The melee at the store in Sabaneta, the birthplace of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, was the latest such incident in a country where economic hardship and food shortages are creating long queues and scuffles.

The opposition Democratic Unity coalition said Maria Aguirre died and another 75 people were injured – including five security officials – in chaotic scenes when National Guard troops sought to control a 5,000-strong crowd with tear gas.

“Due to the shortage of food … the desperation is enormous,” local opposition politician Andres Camejo said, according to the coalition’s website. It published a photo of an elderly woman’s body lying inert on a concrete floor.

ttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/29/pensioner-looking-for-cheap-goods-killed-in-venezuela-supermarket-crush