PM Modi expresses grief over loss of lives in Mecca stampede

Hyderabad resident, Karimullah, on Thursday claimed that his aunt had died in the stampede during Haj pilgrimage, which has so far left over 700 people dead.

The first victim, a women identified as 60-year old Bibi Jan had gone with her family to the holy city.

The stampede occurred during the devil-stoning ritual where pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls in Mina. She was admitted at a hospital in Mina where she succumbed to injuries.

A man from Kerala was also among the pilgrims killed according to information received by the state government. Munis Ahmed Ansari of the Haj Committee of India said it had not been told about the ground situation in Mecca despite the rising demand from the pilgrims’ families. Due to Visa problems, none of her four children would be able to proceed to Mecca and attend her funeral, said Prof S A Shukoor, special officer of Telangana Haj Committee. Out of them, 2,978 are from Telangana, 1,819 from AP and 654 from Karnataka. “We are verifying the information about injuries to Indian pilgrims”, Rahman said. Control rooms have been set up to provide information on the Hajis from Telangana and AP, but sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told TOI that since the death toll in the stampede is huge, the identification of the bodies will take some time. Relatives of those pilgrims can use this service to know the whereabouts of their kin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed pain at the loss of lives in stampede in Mecca and conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.