51 Bangladeshis died in Mina stampede, 130 missing, ambassador in Saudi Arabia says

Bangladesh officials in Saudi Arabia have so far identified 51 Bangladeshi pilgrims among the 769 people killed in the Sep 24 stampede in Mina, near the city of Makkah.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 5 Oct 2015, 04:57 PM
Updated : 5 Oct 2015, 04:57 PM

Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi confirmed the figure while speaking to bdnews24.com on Monday.

“Saudi authorities until now have confirmed 51 deaths of Bangladeshis. But we fear the figure may rise because 130 Bangladeshis are still unaccounted for,” he said.

The Saudi authorities said that 769 pilgrims were killed and 934 were injured in the disaster, which occurred when pilgrims were heading towards Jamarat for the ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual.

But Iran claims the death toll was several thousand, a figure echoed even by pilgrims who are still in Saudi Arabia.

After the incident, officials of the Bangladesh Hajj Mission in Makkah had said that 98 Bangladeshis were missing. The ambassador put the number at 130 on Monday.

The Saudi authorities are yet to publish the identities of the victims even 12 days after the tragedy. The Bangladesh government is also waiting for the announcement.

A foreign ministry statement on Oct 1 said 41 Bangladeshis were identified until that day. It added that identities of 18 of those pilgrims had been confirmed, names of 12 ascertained, while 11 others remained unnamed.

Saudi Arabia had released 650 photographs of Hajj pilgrims killed in the stampede after gathering the bodies and retrieving their photos and fingerprints.

Hajj mission officials and travel agencies then began working to identify the Bangladeshi nationals in coordination with the Saudi authorities.

Many in the country contacted the religious affairs ministry in Dhaka.

The bodies of the pilgrims are currently kept at a hospital in Makkah. The Saudi authorities are expected to release more photos of the deceased.