Dhaka, Jan 7 (BDNEWS) - As the death toll of a building collapse in the holy city of Makkah rose to 76, Bangladesh Mission Saturday confirmed deaths of nine Bangladeshi nationals, including eight pilgrims, in the tragedy.
"With sadness, all those seven who had been missing, were found dead and identified in the morgue at a Meena hospital," Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Major General (retd) SM Ikramul Haque told BDNEWS.
He said, "Now we had no report of any Bangladeshi pilgrim missing in the tragic incident."
On Friday, Bangladesh Mission had informed that two Bangladeshis were among the victims of the building collapse while some remained missing.
Among the seven missing Bangladeshi pilgrims found dead, three each were from two families.
Bodies of Golam Mohiuddin, son of Sheikh Wajed Ali, H# 7, R #51, Banani and his wife Jahanara Begum and her sister Begum Dilruba Islam, wife of Sheikh Nazrul Islam, were found at the hospital morgue.
Three others from another family are Mohammad Abdul Mukit, son of late Abdur Rob, H# 9, R# 5, sector 10, Uttara, his mother Habiba Khanam, and his wife Begum Nahida Hossain Mukit.
Another dead was identified as Mohammad Mantazul Haque, son of Mohammad Mozammel Haque, village Raninagar, PO Kazla, upazila Boalia in Rajshahi.
Earlier on Friday, the Bangladesh mission in Saudi Arabia confirmed the death of Abdur Razzaque, 35, a Hajj pilgrim and Mohammad Shafiq, 36, a salesman at a shop in the building that housed the dormitory for Hajjis.
Razzaque, son of Ruhul Amin, hailed from Raipara in Rajshahi. Shafiq, son of Abu Sama of Naikonkhali of Teknaf in Cox's Bazar district.
"According to Saudi system, the bodies of the Hajis will not be brought to home and they would be buried in the holy soil of Saudi Arabia," Ambassador Haque told BDNEWS.
They will be buried at Saraiya graveyard in the holy city of Makkah.
The Hajj begins on Sunday.
Meanwhile, rescue operations ended late Friday after teams worked through Thursday night searching for anyone trapped.
More than three million Muslims are now in Makkah for the Hajj pilgrimage and people were praying in nearby streets when the building collapse occurred.
The building - on al-Ghazal Street - is only 60m from the walls of Makkah's Great Mosque - and was used by foreign pilgrims.
The Saudi interior ministry said that as many as 40 bodies remained unidentified.
Among the victims are Jordanians, Tunisians, Algerians, Indians, Yemenis and Malaysians.
BDNEWS/1928 hrs
