Hyderabad woman dies in Mina
The deceased has been identified as 60-year-old Bibi Jaan
Hyderabad: A woman pilgrim from Telangana was among those who died in Thursday’s stampede at Meena, Mecca.
According to Syed Omer Jaleel, special secretary, Minorities’ Welfare department, the deceased has been identified as 60-year-old Bibi Jaan, a resident of LB Nagar of Hyderabad.
The state governments of Telangana and AP put the officials of the Minority Welfare department on high alert in Hyderabad immediately after receiving information of the tragedy.
As per information received from the Consulate General of India and Indian Haj Mission in Jeddah, apart from Bibi Jaan, no other deaths of pilgrims from the two states have been reported. They, however, have not ruled out the possibility of other casualties from the states.
According to B.S. Mubarak, Consul General of India at Jeddah, after completing necessary formalities, the photos of the deceased will be displayed and their identity confirmed.
“We are constantly in touch with Saudi authorities and the moment the formalities are completed, we will update the details of affected Indians, if any. We appeal to all concerned to be patient until then,” Mr Mubarak said.
Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao expressed shock at the incident and condoled the loss of lives in the stampede. He instructed officials to ensure the safety and safe return of Haj pilgrims to the state.
Mr K. Bhoopal Reddy, special secretary to CM and Syed Omar Jaleel, special secretary, Minorities’ Welfare Department, besides the Telangana Haj Committee, have been asked to monitor the situation round the clock.
AP CM Chandrababu Naidu also expressed shock at the tragedy. While condoling the loss of lives, he asked the secretary of General Administration, Mr M.K. Meena, and Minorities’ Welfare secretary, Mr S. Md Iqbal, to keep in touch with the Indian Consulate at Jeddah to collect information regarding the safety of AP pilgrims.