The Indian foreign office said on Friday that at least 14 Indians died in yesterday’s stampede in Mina near Mecca that claimed over 700 lives. Thirteen Indian nationals are injured and recovering at seven hospitals across the twin cities of Mina and Mecca, officials said.
“Indian volunteers have reached (Mina) in large numbers and are assisting the local authorities,”
foreign minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
Officials also cautioned that the Indian toll could rise, once the identification of all bodies is completed by Saudi authorities — a process that could take till Saturday.
Of the 14 Indians killed in the stampede, nine were from Gujarat, two each from Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, and one from Maharashtra.
The 13 injured included two each from Bengal — Abdul Kayum and Raichha Begum — and Jammu and Kashmir, and one each from Maharashtra, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
Ranchi, Sept. 25: Two Haj pilgrims from Jharkhand were among 14 Indians killed at the Mina stampede in Mecca yesterday, the Indian Haj Mission list released around 2.30am today said, but another pilgrim, a great-grandmother from Ranchi, who saw people getting trampled died of shock.
The two men from Jharkhand are Mohammed Rustam Ali, a resident of Mahagama in Godda district, and Niazul-Haque Mansurul Haque, whose details are yet to be ascertained.
Godda resident Ali's passport number, L8242891, is mentioned on the list. But, next to Niazul's name on the list is his iqama number (2321727824), which is a kind of residence permit to live and work in Saudi Arabia, but can't be used for overseas travel, instead of his passport. This suggests Niazul might have been an expat worker from Jharkhand.
But, Ranchi septuagenarian Gulabi Begum, who left for Mecca on September 14, had a fatal heart attack at Mina yesterday after witnessing the stampede, according to her family members and Jharkhand Haj Committee chairman M.A. Ansari.
Begum, who was 77 and a great-grandmother, is survived by a large family that resides in Tiwari Lane, Hindpiri.
When The Telegraph visited her home this morning, her family, preparing for Bakri Id namaz, appeared grateful that their matriarch lost her life at Mecca, the holiest place for Muslims.
"Mecca se mubarak jagah duniya mein koi nahin hai. Har Musalman ki khwahish hoti hai ki usey Mecca ki mitti miley (No place in the world is holier than Mecca. Every Muslim wants the grave at Mecca)," Riyazuddin, one of Begum's three sons, said.
Her grandson Ahmed echoed father Riyazuddin. "My grandmother was a pious, kind and soft-hearted lady, which is why she got the opportunity to die in Mecca."
Begum, a widow, is survived by three sons, three daughters-in-law, four daughters, four sons-in-law, six grandsons, nine granddaughters and one great-grandson. When information of her natural death after the stampede came from Mecca this morning, two Hindpiri mosques Rayeen Masjid and Masjid-e-Noor offered special prayers in her memory.
Jharkhand Haj Committee chairman Ansari said last rites for all the departed would be performed at Mecca.
