AMN /
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has ordered a review of annual Hajj pilgrimage procedures after a stampede killed at least 717 people and injured more than 900 others yesterday.
The king said there is a need to improve the level of organisation and management of movement of pilgrims. A commission to investigate the stampede has also been formed by the Saudi government. Video from the scene showed bodies strewn across the ground alongside the wounded and weeping in Mina, five kilometers east of Mecca.
The faithful visit the site to throw rocks at pillars representing the devil in a final ritual before beginning the Eid al-Azha holiday. Health Minister Khalid al-Falih blamed pilgrims, saying they failed to follow instructions from authorities.
14 Indians have lost their lives in stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage near the Islamic holy city of Mecca. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed this through social networking site Twitter today. Ms Swaraj said, Indian Consul General in Jeddah has also reported that 13 injured Indian are in the hospital. She said that the exact number will be known after confirmation by Saudi authorities.
The accident occurred around 11.30 AM Indian time yesterday. Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry, said the stampede occurred when two large groups of pilgrims converged from different directions on to one street. This is the second disaster to strike Mecca in two weeks, after a crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque, killing 109 people.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that Indian Mission in Jeddah is continuously monitoring situation. He said, Indian doctors deployed in Mecca for Haj have been asked to work with government hospitals to take care of the injured. Emergency numbers in Mecca are 00966125458000, 00966125496000. Toll free number for pilgrims in the Kingdom is 8002477786
The stampede is the second mass fatality for pilgrims this month following a crane collapse that killed 109 people in Mecca.