22 Indian pilgrims among 769 killed in Haj stampede
28 Sept 2015 4:46 AM IST
The death toll of Indian pilgrims in the horrific stampede during Haj rose to 22 on Saturday as Saudi Arabia grappled to come to terms with the horrific tragedy that has claimed 769 lives.
“The number of Indian lives lost in Haj stampede has now risen to 22. Some more bodies are to be identified,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted tonight. “We are facilitating visits of relatives of missing pilgrims and tour operators to the complex for identification,” she said.
Earlier, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “Our officials on the ground in Mecca have been working continuously to ascertain information and reach out to family members of missing pilgrims.” Among those killed, 11 were from Gujarat, three from Tamil Nadu and one each from Telangana, Kerala, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Four persons, who were found among the dead, have been identified as -- Rasul Ali from Jharkhand, Moinuddin from Uttar Pradesh, Hafijabahen <g data-gr-id="35">Satarsha</g> Diwan from Gujarat and Syed <g data-gr-id="36">Abdul Hussain</g> from Gujarat.
The death toll from the stampede during Haj has risen to 769, the Saudi Health Minister said on
Saturday. Khaled al-Falih also told reporters the number of injured had risen to 934. At least 13 Indians were also among those injured.
As Muslim pilgrims sombrely resumed the final rites of Haj yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a safety review and a “revision” of the Haj organisation.
Leading the criticism against Saudi Arabia, its regional rival Iran expressed indignation at the deaths of 131 of its nationals at the world’s largest annual gathering of people.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York questioned whether the Saudi government could be trusted with the responsibility of overseeing the Haj. Al-Falih said the stampede “was perhaps because some pilgrims moved without following instructions by the relevant authorities.”
King Salman ordered the formation of a committee to probe the incident during the five-day pilgrimage in which around two million people from more than 180 countries took part. From India, 1.5 lakh pilgrims performed Haj.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.
<g data-gr-id="70">Haj</g> stampede beyond human control, says top Saudi cleric
Saudi Arabia’s top religious leader says a stampede which killed 717 pilgrims was beyond human control, official media reported on Saturday, the final day of this year’s Haj.
The stampede was the worst disaster in a quarter-century to strike the annual event and drew fierce criticism of the Saudi authorities’ handling of safety, particularly from regional rival Iran.
“You are not responsible for what happened”, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in a meeting in Mina yesterday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. “As for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable,” Sheikh told the prince, who is also minister of interior.
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