Karachi children buried in sand during solar eclipse

Desperate families buried their sick children in the sand during the solar eclipse in the hope that it would cure them.

Children are covered up to their necks on a beach in Karachi, Pakistan, exposing their faces to the ‘healing’ rays of the sun.

Other eclipse-related superstitions include the prohibition of cooking during the astronomical event, and the ritual of taking a bath and changing into clean clothes after the event is over.

Regular activities such as sleeping, urinating, defecating and sex are also prohibited by some communities during the eclipse.

The partial solar eclipse was visible from much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and West Asia.

In Pakistan, the eclipse began at 1:58 PM and ended at 6:20 PM, with the highest point at 4:00 PM.

This eclipse was only partial, and the moon’s shadow did not touch the earth’s surface in any way, the Paris Observatory said.

This will be the 16th partial solar eclipse of the century and the second this year.