Mecca's worst Hajj tragedy in 25 years: Death toll of Indians in stampede rises to 35

With six more deaths being announced, the toll of Indians from the worst Hajj tragedy in 25 years near the Saudi holy city of Mecca rose to 35 on Sunday.

New Delhi: With six more deaths being announced in the recent stampede, the toll of Indians from the worst Hajj tragedy in 25 years near the Saudi holy city of Mecca rose to 35 on Sunday.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed the news. On microbloging website Twitter Swaraj wrote: “Unfortunately, there are six more Indians taking the toll to 35.”

Unfortunately, there are six more Indians taking the toll to 35.

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 27, 2015

The six dead pilgrims include four from Gujarat and one each from Jharkhand and Bihar.

The names of the victims from Gujarat are: Mohamed Yunus Rahimbhai Mansuri, Bibi Ismail, Maherunnisha Hanif and Mohammed Yusuf Sikandarmiya Malik. The dead person from Bihar was Jaibun Nisha and from Jharkhand was Nashima Khatoon.

In another tweet Swaraj posted the link of a Facebook page of Governmnet of India's -Hajj Mission Indian Consulate Jeddah- giving details regarding the 'Control room for assistance to affected families from Mina stampede'. 

The facebook page http://t.co/ji93Msbi30 has details. Pl RT

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 27, 2015

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

She further said that the Saudi authorities have released photos of 1,090 pilgrims who have died in the stampede.

In the morning today, the external affairs ministry announced seven more deaths from last Thursday's stampede near Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The dead pilgrims included five from Kerala and one each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The seven from Kerala were: Faaiz Abdul Muneer Veettil, Amina Beevi Mohammed Shafi Musaliar, Abdul Rahiman Asarithodi, Puthu Veettil Kunhimon and Moinuddin Abdul Kader. The dead from Uttar Pradesh was identified as Anvar Janha, and the one from Jharkhand as Mansurul Haque.

On Saturday, the government announced eight more deaths, and said with more bodies being identified from among the 769 deaths reported in Thursday's stampede, the toll could go up.

The eight dead reported on Saturday were: two pilgrims each from Kerala, Jharkhand and Gujarat, and one each from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Of the 14 dead reported on Friday, nine were from Gujarat, two each belonged to Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, and one was from Maharashtra. 

Meanwhile, under tight security reinforcements pilgrims in Saudi Arabia performed the final rituals of a Hajj marred by double tragedy, with the death toll from a stampede rising to 769.

The kingdom`s leaders have ordered an inquiry into the disaster -- the deadliest to strike the annual Muslim pilgrimage in a quarter-century -- and a "revision" of its organisation, with the deaths raising tensions with regional rival Iran as well.

Dozens of emergency workers were seen on one level of Jamarat Bridge, a five-storey structure in Mina where pilgrims ritually stone the devil, and on which hundreds of thousands were converging when Thursday`s stampede occurred nearby.

The disaster was the second deadly accident to mar the Hajj. A massive construction crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque in the nearby holy city of Mecca days beforehand, killing 109 people, many of them pilgrims.

(With Agency inputs)