CAIRO: Photos of 42 unidentified Egyptian pilgrims, who were killed and injured in last week’s Mecca stampede, were posted Wednesday on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah.
The consulate called on relatives of identified slain or injured Egyptian pilgrims to contact the consulate on Facebook or the following numbers 01220463333-25772500.
The number of Egyptian pilgrims who were killed in Mecca’s Mina stampede has reached 83, while 84 are still missing, Minister of Endowment Mokhtar Gomaa said Wednesday.
The stampede occurred while almost 2 million pilgrims from all over the world were simultaneously performing the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina near Mecca. The crush claimed the lives of more than 700 and injured more than 800, according to media reports.
According to the AP, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said the crush appears to have been caused by two waves of pilgrims meeting at an intersection.
In a televised speech aired Thursday at the Saudi Al-Ekhbariya T.V. channel, Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih blamed “lack of discipline and ignoring the Hajj instructions and timetables among pilgrims ” for the Thursday’s stampede.
The Saudi civil protection force contained a fire that spread Friday morning in Egyptian’s camp 8 in Mena, after starting in the camp’s kitchen. The fire was put out by eight fire trucks; no injuries nor losses were reported, according to Youm7.