Varanasi pilgrim killed in Haj stampede

    Varanasi/New Delhi: Shock and grief swamped the family of Roshan Jehan on Friday as Indian officials confirmed that she was among the 345 Muslim pilgrims crushed to death on Thursday during a stoning ritual on the last day of the Haj, the worst tragedy to beset the sacred event in more than a decade. This is the first time Jehan, a resident of Varanasi and a mother of 10, had been on Haj, and for her grief-stricken family, the tragedy is yet to sink in.They cannot belief she will not come back. Jehan's husband who was also on the Haj is safe. "I called them and I came to know that during the stoning of devil our daughter was killed," said Hasamuddulah, Jehan's father.

   Five more Indians were among the pilgrims who died at the eastern entrance of Mina's disaster-prone Jamarat Bridge as they jostled to perform the stoning between noon and sunset in Mena, a narrow valley near the holy city of Mecca. In all, 27 Indians, including 15 women, were among the 354 pilgrims killed in the stampede during the symbolic stoning ritual during Haj in Mina near Mecca on Thursday. Reports reaching here from Mina said that out of the 13 Indian pilgrims injured, only two are in hospital while the others have been dishcarged after receiving first aid. According to the Indian Consul General in Mina, Ausaf Sayeed, among the dead 12 are from Uttar Pradesh, three each from Maharasthra and Andhra Pradesh, two each from Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and one from West Bengal. Two Indians based in Saudi Arabia are among those killed. Sayeed and senior officials of the Indian medical mission visited the injured admitted at various hospitals in Mina. A control room has been set up in the Mina Camp for the convenience of the pilgrims. Ten branch dispensaries and the main hospital in Mecca have been put on high alert and special efforts are on to trace the pilgrims reported as missing. The Indian Consul in Jeddha is trying to establish contact with the next of the kin of the deceased pilgrims and offering all possible assistance in the speedy completion of burial formalities.

   Some 2.5 million Muslims are performing the haj this year, and the death toll was the worst since 1,426 people were killed in a stampede in a tunnel in Mecca in 1990. Thursday's crush, which occurred after noon prayers, intensified after many pilgrims scrambled to pick up belongings lost in the heavy crowds, officials said. Many pilgrims insist on following Prophet Mohammad's example of stoning after noon prayers instead of staggering the ritual throughout the day as some clerics recommend. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan has blamed the crush on pilgrims who insisted on carrying bulky baggage during the stoning ritual despite officials' warnings. The crush was the second disaster to hit this year's pilgrimage. Last week, 76 people were killed when a hostel in Mecca collapsed in a narrow street. The Haj is a duty for every able-bodied Muslim at least once in a lifetime. Many pilgrims transport their belongings from site to site, hampering the flow of pilgrims.

    The pilgrimage has been marred by stampedes in the past, and some of the worst have occurred in Mina. In 2004, some 250 pilgrims were crushed to death at Jamarat Bridge. A decade earlier, 270 were killed in a similar stampede. Saudi Arabia has revamped the Jamarat area by expanding the stoning targets and provided unprecedented security including 60,000 security men to control the huge crowd and avert possible attacks by Islamist militants. After this year's Haj, the Jamarat Bridge will be replaced with a more elaborate bridge involving a four-level system of entrances and exits to the three walls, including a subway, and costing 4.2 billion riyals or 1.12 billion dollars. Pilgrims, in white robes meant to eradicate differences in race and class between Muslims, perform a third day of stoning on Thursday and make a final visit to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to rules laid out by Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago.

28 Indian pilgrims killed in Mina stampede

    Jeddah: The Indian Consulate in Jeddah has confirmed the death of 28 Indian Pilgrims in the Mina stampede on the last day of the Haj. The deceased include 16 women. The casualties also include two Indians resident in Saudi Arabia. According to Saudi officials sources, a total of 354 people have died and 289 injured in the incident. As of now 28 Indian Pilgrims have been confirmed dead of which 16 are women.

   The list of deceased people included -- Sabiran Bano, (UP) , Raushan Jahan (UP), Zaibunnisa (Maharashtra), Fauzia(UP), Khatoom Begum (Rajasthan), Seerat Fatima (UP), Sarfaraz Ahmed (UP), Mohd Bahuddin (Andhra Pradesh), Ruksana Begum ((UP), Abeda Shakeel (UP), Akhtarnul Nisha (UP), Mohammad Shareef(UP), Moideen Kutty (Kerala), Immerumma (Kerala), Nisar Ahmed (UP), Rahisa Bano (Rajasthan), Kachem Ali Sekh (West Bengal), Mohd Idris (UP), Jamshed Ali (UP), Haneefunnisa Begum (Andhra Pradesh), Salma Begum Pathan (Maharashtra), Mohd Abdul Shukur (Andhra Pradesh), Nasim Bano (Maharashtra), Raseedan Bee (Madhya Pradesh), Kamrunnisa (Madhya Pradesh), Ibrahim Falidad Bihai ( Local Iqama Holder), Sulaiman (Local Iqama Holder) and Aboobacker (Kerala). Consul General, Consul (Haj) and senior officials of the Indian medical Mission visited the injured pilgrims admitted at the various hospitals in Mina to enquire about their well-being. 7 pilgrims, who only suffered from minor injuries and were discharged by the Saudi hospitals, were transported to their buildings in Makkah and united with their families. As of now, 6 Indian pilgrims remain admitted in Saudi hospitals and are out of danger.

    The list of injured included -- Mohd Ibnul Hasan (Bihar), Maqsood (Uttar Pradesh), Mannawar Hussain (Uttar Pradesh), Hamza Perchikotel (Kerala), Serajuddin (Delhi), Husna Bano (Delhi), Shahjahan Bano (Uttar Pradesh), Tabish Kashmiri (Jammu and Kashmir), Kazi Yasin (Maharashtra), Begum Jan (Andhra Pradesh), Shakira (Uttar Pradesh), Massiyanam Bi (Maharashtra), Mohammed Shafiq (West Bengal)

   A Control Room has been setup in the Mina Camp. The contact numbers of the Control Room are 009662-5523816, 5592528, 5523815. Ten (10) Branch dispensaries and the Main Hospital in Makkah have been put on high alert and are functioning round the clock. The stampede took place at around 2 pm (IST) in Mina on the last day of the Haj. The incident took place when the pilgrims were going for the ritual stoning of Shaitan (Rammi), at about 150 meters of distance from the Jamarat Bridge, on which stoning of Shaitan is done.

Mourning for their relatives killed in Haj stampede

    Gorakhpur: A pall of gloom descended over the family of Mohammad Idris and Ruksana Begum in Gorakhpur as the news of their tragic death in the Haj stampede trickled in on Friday. The couple was among 345 people who perished during a stoning ritual on the last day of the Haj, the worst tragedy to beset the sacred event in more than a decade. Three sons of the couple, who had gone for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, have not stopped crying ever since the news broke. Ruksana and her husband had gone to offer thanks giving prayers at the holiest shrine. Shamim Ansari, nephew of the deceased couple, said the whole family was in a state of disbelief after hearing the news. "We were about to call them as it was the last day of the pilgrimage and were very happy that they had completed their pilgrimage successfully. And were hoping for them to return soon. I was with him at the Haj terminal when he boarded the plane. I cannot believe that they are no more. We cannot explain the loss. We feel as if we are left alone," said Ansari. 27 Indians are among the pilgrims who died at the eastern entrance of Mena's disaster-prone Jamarat Bridge as they jostled to perform the stoning between noon and sunset in Mena, a narrow valley near the holy city of Mecca.

   Some 2.5 million devotees performed the Haj this year, and the death toll was the worst since 1,426 people were killed in a stampede in a tunnel in Mecca in 1990. Thursday's crush, which occurred after noon prayers, intensified after many pilgrims scrambled to pick up belongings lost in the heavy crowds, officials said. Many pilgrims insist on following Prophet Mohammad's example of stoning after noon prayers instead of staggering the ritual throughout the day as some clerics recommend. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan has blamed the crush on pilgrims who insisted on carrying bulky baggage during the stoning ritual despite officials' warnings. The crush was the second disaster to hit this year's pilgrimage. Last week, 76 people were killed when a hostel in Mecca collapsed in a narrow street. The Haj is considered a duty for every able-bodied Muslim at least once in a lifetime. Many pilgrims transport their belongings from site to site, hampering the flow of pilgrims. The pilgrimage has been marred by stampedes in the past, and some of the worst have occurred in Mena. In 2004, some 250 pilgrims were crushed to death at Jamarat Bridge. A decade earlier, 270 were killed in a similar stampede.

   Saudi Arabia has revamped the Jamarat area by expanding the stoning targets and provided unprecedented security including 60,000 security men to control the huge crowd and avert possible attacks by Islamist militants. After this year's Haj, the Jamarat Bridge will be replaced with a more elaborate bridge involving a four-level system of entrances and exits to the three walls, including a subway, and costing 4.2 billion riyals (1.12billion dollars). Pilgrims, in white robes meant to eradicate differences in race and class between Muslims, perform a third day of stoning on Thursday and make a final visit to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to rules laid out by Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago.

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