Number of Iranians killed in hajj stampede tops 450

Saudi Arabia deployed thousands of security forces and medical staff for emergency situation, but such a crush in Mina proves that there were a few people who did not carry out the policies they were supposed to, he mentions.

Sinare further claimed that eight out of the 13 died of natural causes and the remaining five from the deadly stampede that killed over 700 pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Among the hospitals visited by the Embassy and the Tanzania Hajj Mission alongside other groups include, Mecca, Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifa, Jeddah and Taif.

Al-Falih conveyed the condolences of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to the Iranian government and the families of the deceased, asserting Saudi Arabia’s willingness to cooperate with the Iranian government on all issues.

This means more Iranians were killed by the stampede than any other nationality.

Saudi authorities had so far been blaming the incident on the pilgrims themselves for failing to act in an orderly fashion. Iran, supported by a section of Jewish and anti-Muslim media, hurled allegations against Saudi authorities without any substance and also allowed anti-Saudi and anti-Sunni protest in Iranian territory.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that the photos are of those who died during the entire pilgrimage and not just at the disaster just outside Mecca.

The high number of dead Iranians was “due to the inefficiency and mismanagement of the Saudi rulers in handling the largest gathering of Muslims”, the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, which oversees its citizens’ participation in the hajj, said in Thursday’s report.

The two regional rivals were already at odds over Iran’s support for Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen, where a Saudi-led Arab coalition has waged months of air strikes against the insurgents.

About 5,424 Ghanaians took part in this year’s pilgrimage.

Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki, denying the allegation, said no motorcade passed through the area since early morning on that day.

The official death toll of the hajj stampede of September 24 is 769. Iranian officials allege the total amount of departures is more than 1,000 Pakistan, India, and Indonesia also have indicated death toll could be greater compared to 769 reported by Saudi Arabia.