HAJJ STAMPEDE : 18 Bangladeshis among dead [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

HAJJ STAMPEDE : 18 Bangladeshis among dead

Local September 29, 2015

At least 18 Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims were identified among those killed in the September 24 stampede in Mina, outside the holy city of Makkah, Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh claimed on Monday, although the government confirmed the death of four pilgrims so far.
Scores of Bangladeshi pilgrims also remained missing since the incident, HAAB and Bangladesh officials in Makkah said.
Private news agency United News of Bangladesh reported, quoting HAAB President Ibrahim Bahar, the death of 18 people.
Md Asaduzzaman, counselor (Hajj) of Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh told New Age over telephone Monday evening a total of 160 hajj pilgrims were enlisted as missing till Sunday late night and, of them, 36 went back
to their designated places.
The Bangladesh authorities is likely to publish the photos of the victims, initially appearing to be Bangladeshi, on the website of the ministry of religious affairs so that the missing ones’ relatives in Bangladesh could check and identify them, he said.
He, however, immediately could not say how many photos would be uploaded to the website as scrutiny was going on.
Asaduzzaman said time would be necessary for processing and getting consent of the Saudi authorities.
The counselor said that it would take time to prepare a complete list of the missing hajj pilgrims as many of them might return to their respective locations later, or go back to the country directly.
He said the list of missing ones would be finalised only after the relatives in the country confirm whether hajj pilgrims had come back or not.
The foreign ministry in Bangladesh in a press release on Sunday, however, confirmed the death of four Bangladesh nationals and did not provide further details until Monday night.
Six medical teams are now working to search for Bangladeshis injured at different hospitals in Makkah.
The stampede killed 769 hajj pilgrims and injured other 934 ones at Mina where some two million people had been performing the annual hajj pilgrimage.
A Bangladeshi diplomat in Saudi Arabia said that the Saudi authorities released some 670 photographs of dead hajj pilgrims and the Bangladesh embassy collected photographs of 90 victims that appeared to be Bangladeshi.
Later, he said, the photographs were verified by them, the missing hajj pilgrims’ relatives, companions and acquaintances and it was initially thought that only three or four victims might be Bangladeshis, although their identities could not be ascertained.
Their wrist bands, name tags and even their bags were torn during the accident, he said.
The photographs of probable Bangladeshi victims had been displayed in the Bangladesh Hajj Mission, Makkah for identification by hajj agents, relatives and acquaintances.
He requested the Hajjis, their companions and relatives, hajj guides and agents to report about missing hajjis over phone to 00966(0)537375859 and 00966(0)509360082 numbers.
Over one lakh and six thousand Bangladeshis are among the two million hajj pilgrims, according to religious affairs ministry.
Our Correspondent in Feni reports, family members of five hajj pilgrims from different areas of the district claimed their death as they knew the news from their close relatives who accompanied the victims.
They are Abul Kashem of village Bhabanipur under Daganbhuiyan upazila, Khaleda Begum of Chithlia under Parshuram upazila, Nurunnabi Mintu of village Nadna under Sonagazi upazila and Tahera Begum and Nurjahan, both of village Sujapur under the same upazila.