Mina stampede deaths rise to 769
03:54AM Sun 27 Sep, 2015
MAKKAH: Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Saturday said the number of pilgrims who died in Thursday’s stampede in Mina has risen to 769.
Al-Falih said the number of injured has also jumped to 934, of which many are still confined in hospitals.
“The latest statistics up to this hour reveal 769 dead. That is an increase of 52 on the previous figures,” he told a press conference. “Those are the ones who died in various hospitals since the event,” he said.
Iran has reported the biggest number of deaths at 136, with Morocco coming next with 87.
The other confirmed deaths, compiled by Agence France Presse, were from Cameroon, 20; Niger, 19: India, 18; Egypt, 14; Chad, 11; Pakistan, 9; Somalia, 8; Algeria, 7; Senegal, 5; Tanzania, 4; Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria, 3 each; and Burkina Faso, Burundi and the Netherlands, 1 each.
Five Filipinos were also reported to have died in Makkah, but only one was caused by the stampede. The others died of illnesses aggravated by the heat, officials said.
Benin had also reported deaths but the number was unspecified.
Thursday’s stampede is the second worst in a number of tragedies to strike the pilgrimage, surpassed only by that of July 2, 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims, mainly from Asia, died during a stampede in a tunnel at Mina after a ventilation system failure.
Arab News
Photos
