Bangladeshi victims of Mina stampede

Death toll now 79

The government has confirmed the deaths of 79 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims in a stampede in Mina of Saudi Arabia. Another 129 Bangladeshis pilgrims died of natural causes, said Religious Affairs Secretary Dr Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan yesterday, reports UNB.
“Though nearly 70 pilgrims are still missing, we expect that the death toll won’t rise further,” said the secretary while talking to reporters at the ministry yesterday.
There are 125 male and 4 female pilgrims among those who died naturally, he added.
Responding to a question about bringing back the bodies of the hajj pilgrims, he said the Saudi government has no rule to send back the bodies of hajj pilgrims.
The Foreign Ministry will inform about the government decision if it decides to request the Saudi government for sending back the bodies, Babul Hassan added.
He also said a total of 44,207 hajj pilgrims returned home as of October 10. A total of 1, 06,550 hajj pilgrims and officials, went to Saudi Arabia this year.

AFP adds: The death toll from last month’s stampede at the hajj has risen to 1,489, according to tallies given by foreign officials, making it the deadliest incident in the pilgrimage’s history.
Saudi Arabia is yet to provide an updated death toll after stating, two days after the stampede, that 769 pilgrims had died.
Hundreds of pilgrims have also not been accounted for following the September 24 stampede.
However, many foreign governments have provided numbers on pilgrims killed from their countries and an AFP tally shows the death toll has risen beyond the 1,426 pilgrims who died in the hajj’s worst previous incident—a tunnel stampede in July 1990.
A breakdown of the dead from foreign governments are Iran 464 dead, Egypt 165, Indonesia 120, India 101, Nigeria 99, Pakistan 87, Bangladesh 79, Mali 60, Senegal 54, Chad 52, Sudan 30, Niger 28, Algeria 28, Morocco 27, Cameroon 20, Ivory Coast 14, Ethiopia 13, Libya 10, Somalia 8, Kenya 6, Ghana 5, Mauritius 5, Tanzania 4, Tunisia 4, Burkina Faso 1, Burundi 1, Netherlands 1, Oman 1, Jordan 1 and Iraq 1.

Bangladeshi victims of Mina stampede

Death toll now 79

The government has confirmed the deaths of 79 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims in a stampede in Mina of Saudi Arabia. Another 129 Bangladeshis pilgrims died of natural causes, said Religious Affairs Secretary Dr Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan yesterday, reports UNB. Though nearly 70 pilgrims are still missing, we expect that the death toll wont rise further, said the secretary while talking to reporters at the ministry yesterday. There are 125 male and 4 female pilgrims among those who died naturally, he added. Responding to a question about bringing back the bodies of the hajj pilgrims, he said the Saudi government has no rule to send back the bodies of hajj pilgrims. The Foreign Ministry will inform about the government decision if it decides to request the Saudi government for sending back the bodies, Babul Hassan added. He also said a total of 44,207 hajj pilgrims returned home as of October 10. A total of 1, 06,550 hajj pilgrims and officials, went to Saudi Arabia this year. AFP adds: The death toll from last months stampede at the hajj has risen to 1,489, according to tallies given by foreign officials, making it the deadliest incident in the pilgrimages history. Saudi Arabia is yet to provide an updated death toll after stating, two days after the stampede, that 769 pilgrims had died. Hundreds of pilgrims have also not been accounted for following the September 24 stampede. However, many foreign governments have provided numbers on pilgrims killed from their countries and an AFP tally shows the death toll has risen beyond the 1,426 pilgrims who died in the hajjs worst previous incidenta tunnel stampede in July 1990. A breakdown of the dead from foreign governments are Iran 464 dead, Egypt 165, Indonesia 120, India 101, Nigeria 99, Pakistan 87, Bangladesh 79, Mali 60, Senegal 54, Chad 52, Sudan 30, Niger 28, Algeria 28, Morocco 27, Cameroon 20, Ivory Coast 14, Ethiopia 13, Libya 10, Somalia 8, Kenya 6, Ghana 5, Mauritius 5, Tanzania 4, Tunisia 4, Burkina Faso 1, Burundi 1, Netherlands 1, Oman 1, Jordan 1 and Iraq 1.