Mina: The number of Indian casualties has gone up to 14 in the Haj stampede in Saudi Arabia that claimed 717 lives and left over 800 injured, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said.
"Our consul general Jeddah reports loss of 14 Indian lives in stampede," the minister said in a tweet. She added that "we have 13 injured in hospital".
Bodies of people who died in a crush in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual Haj pilgrimage (Photo: AP)
"The exact number will be known after confirmation by Saudi authorities," she further said.
Our Consul General Jeddah reports loss of 14 Indian lives in stampede. We have 13 injured in hospital. #Mecca
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 25, 2015Our emergency Nos in Mecca : 00966125458000 00966125496000 Toll free number for pilgrims in Saudi Arabia : 8002477786
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 24, 2015The second biggest tragedy to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia took place yesterday at 9 AM local time (1130 IST) due to a sudden surge in the number of pilgrims heading to Jamarat for symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls.
List of Indians killed in yesterday's stampede in Mina pic.twitter.com/vEgf9cwYJe
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 25, 2015List of Indians injured in yesterday's stampede in Mina pic.twitter.com/mHEEfFbkQA
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 25, 2015Authorities had yesterday said that four Indians, including a woman and a volunteer, were killed in the stampede which occurred at the intersection of two streets leading to Jamarat, about five kilometres from Mecca.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims make their way to cast stones at a pillar symbolizing the stoning of Satan in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual Haj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, in Mina on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Photo: AP)
This is the second worst tragedy to hit the Haj after 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims were killed in a stampede inside a tunnel leading to holy sites. Meanwhile, reports in Jeddah said that 13 Indians are missing following the tragedy.
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