Mina:
The number of Indians killed in a stampede at the Haj has risen to 45 with authorities identifying 10 more bodies among the victims of the worst tragedy in 25 years to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
"The death toll of Indians killed in Haj stampede is now 45. We have 50 Indian pilgrims in various hospitals in Saudi Arabia," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted today.
The Hajj Consulate in Jeddah has said the deceased included three pilgrims from West Bengal and two each from Kerala and Jharkhand and one each from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
According to Saudi authorities, a total of 769 people died in the stampede on Thursday. Around two million people from over 180 countries took part in the five-day pilgrimage. This included 1.5 lakh pilgrims from India.
The kingdom's leaders have ordered an inquiry into the disaster and a "revision" of its organisation.
The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different directions at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil.
The disaster was the second deadly accident to mar the haj. A massive construction crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque in the nearby holy city of Mecca days beforehand, killing 109 people, many of them pilgrims.
The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it is expected to perform it at least once in a lifetime.