Hajj stampede: Death toll of Indians killed in Saudi Arabia rises

Delhi: The death toll of Indian pilgrims in last week tragic stampede during Hajj rose to 29 on Sunday.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on micro-blogging site Twitter - “The number of Indian lives lost in Hajj stampede has unfortunately gone up to 29.”

“Our embassy officials are providing all help to the families,” she added.

The authorities today identified seven more bodies among the victims of the worst incident in 25 years to strike the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Hajj Consulate in Jeddah identified the deceased as Mansurul Haque (Jharkhand), Anvar Janha (UP), F A Muneer Veetil, Amina Beevi, Abdul Rahiman Asarithodi, P V Kunhimon and Moiuddin Abdul Kader (all from Kerala), as per PTI.

Saudi authorities have put the total death toll from the stampede during Hajj to 769.

The number of injured stands at 934.

King Salman has ordered the formation of a committee to probe the deadly incident during the five-day pilgrimage in which around two million people from over 180 countries took part.

From India, 1.5 lakh pilgrims performed Hajj.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.

The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different directions at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil.

It was the second major accident this year for pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca's Grand Mosque, killing over 100 people, including 11 Indians.

(With PTI inputs)