14 Indians Among Over 700 Killed In Haj Stampede: 10 Developments

Over 800 people have been injured in the worst Haj tragedy in 25 years. (AP Photo)

Mina, Saudi Arabia: Fourteen Indians have reportedly died in the stampede outside the holy city of Mecca that killed 717 Haj pilgrims from different countries on Thursday, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said today. Over 800 people are injured, among them 13 Indians.

Here are the latest developments in this story:

"Our Consul General Jeddah reports loss of 14 Indian lives in stampede. We have 13 injured in hospital, Ms Swaraj tweeted, adding, "The exact number will be known after confirmation by Saudi authorities."
Of the Indian pilgrims who have died, nine are from Gujarat, two each from Jharkhand and Tami Nadu and one from Maharashtra according to a list released by the Haj committee.
About one lakh Indians are among the two million people performing the annual Haj in Mecca this year.
The stampede happened at about 9 am (11.30 am IST) in Mina at the intersection of two streets leading to Jamarat, about five km from Mecca, where pilgrims "stone the devil" in a ritual by throwing pebbles at three large pillars.
Thursday's tragedy occurred outside the five-storey Jamarat Bridge, which was erected in the last decade at a cost of more than $1 billion and intended to improve safety.
Witnesses blamed Saudi authorities and said they were afraid to continue the rituals. "There was crowding. The police had closed all entrances and exits to the pilgrims' camp, leaving only one," said Ahmed Abu Bakr, a 45-year-old Libyan who escaped the stampede with his mother, AFP reported.
The worst tragedy in 25 years at the annual Muslim pilgrimage spurred King Salman of Saudi Arabia to order "a revision" of Haj organisation while authorities started a probe into the disaster.
The interior ministry said it deployed 100,000 police to secure the Haj, maintain safety and manage traffic and crowds.
Mina is a camp city, a few kilometres from Mecca, where pilgrims from across the world stay for several days during the Haj in a complex of white fireproof tents big enough to hold more than two million people.
This is the second major disaster at Mecca this month after over 100 people were killed on September 12, when a construction crane crashed on the Grand Mosque. In 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede during the stoning ritual in Mina, among them 51 Indians.