Monday 28 September 2015

Egypt reports 18 deaths in Haj stampede

Egypt said on Friday that 18 of its pilgrims were among the 717 who perished the day before in a stampede during the annual Muslim pilgrimage Haj in Saudi Arabia. Thirty-one Egyptian pilgrims were also wounded, the official Middle East News Agency reported, quoting Minister of Waqf (Religious Endowment), Mohammad Jumaa.

“The number of Egyptian deaths in the stampede incident has risen from the eight reported yesterday to 14,” added Jumaa, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, heading Egypt’s pilgrimage mission. In the wake of the tragedy, Prime Minister Sharif Esmail directed the formation of a ministerial committee to follow on the situation of the Egyptian pilgrims, state media said.

Around 90,000 Egyptians are participating in this year’s Haj, according to the Egyptian Travel Agents Association. Saudi authorities said the crush happened at an intersection near a five-floor building where pilgrims perform a symbolic stone stoning of the devil in the holy city of Mina, a major rite of the Haj. The kingdom has opened an investigation.Saudi King Salman has ordered a review of safety measures for the Haj after the disaster, the Haj’s deadliest since 1990 when 1, 426 pilgrims died in an overcrowded tunnel in Mina.

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