Woman from Hyderabad dies in Mecca stampede

The authorities identified 10 more bodies among the victims of the worst tragedy in 25 years to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

In the latest announcement, made on Saturday evening, two Haj pilgrims from Kerala, and one each from Jharkhand and Karnataka were reported killed in the crush on Thursday in Mina, that has left at least 769 people dead. “Saudi authorities have released photos of 1090 pilgrims who have died in the Haj stampede”, Ms Swaraj tweeted. He also called upon the central government to hasten the process of bringing back the bodies of all those killed back home. The incident took place on the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice.

The writer said that Iran had become more hostile than ever since Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a regional leader, contesting its clout. Many women find it disrespectful to speak up for their rights but they have to do so as I believe that is the only way some sort of change will be brought about.

Today, thousands of pilgrims once again thronged the scene of the disaster to cast pebbles at three pillars in a ritual that symbolises resistance to the devil’s temptations.

A construction crane has been collapsed on Grand mosque of Mecca this month on September 11 killing over 100 people out of which 11 were Indians.

In Pakistan, the country’s Supreme Court said it received a citizen’s petition asking it to open an investigation into the hajj disaster. She was caught up in the stampede and died at a hospital in Mina, he said.

This year, Indonesian pilgrim numbers reached 168,000.

“Amid all this, discordant voices were heard trying to exploit the stampede to point the finger at Saudi Arabia and hold it responsible”, the writer said.

Sushma Swaraj said the Indian embassy officials were providing all help to the bereaved families.

About two million Muslims are taking part in this year’s Haj pilgrimage, which began on Tuesday.

“They don’t have a clue how to engage with these people”, said Irfan al-Alawi, co-founder of the Mecca-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation.

“We are talking to the Saudi authorities to allow the family members to travel as far as possible”, said K. Zahir Hussain, deputy chief executive officer of the Haj Committee based in Mumbai.