MINA (Saudi Arabia), Jan 13: Hundreds of pilgrims were crushed to death and almost 1,000 injured, some critically, during a stampede at Jamaraat in Mina, as crowds surged to carry out ‘rami’ on Thursday.

Some reports of the ministry of health put the figure at 362 dead and over 1,000 injured. People saw a lorry filled with bodies in Mina immediately after the stampede.

Pakistani Minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq told this correspondent on Friday evening that out of the total of 45 Pakistani pilgrims killed in the incident, 31 had been identified and their names were being sent to the media for announcement.

There were six more bodies yet to be identified. But since some telephone numbers from Pakistan have been found with them, the dead were believed to be from Pakistan, he said.

The Pakistani Haj mission was trying to call those numbers in Pakistan to ascertain and confirm identities of those victims, said the minister.

Eight other Pakistanis, resident of Saudi Arabia, have also been identified through their iqamas (residence permit), he said.

Eight more disfigured and beyond recognition bodies having no documents on them were lying in hospital mortuaries, Mr Haq said. Since their features suggested that they were from the subcontinent, there was a possibility that the toll of Pakistani Hujjaj may rise, he added.

The dead pilgrims will most likely be buried in Saudi Arabia as it is difficult to take their bodies back home, the minister said.

Among those injured, the number of Pakistanis was 21. Out of them, 17 were discharged from hospitals but four were still admitted to hospitals and undergoing treatment.

The Pakistani mission was also working to look for the missing Hujjaj in their camps.

The Saudi government was yet to announce identity of the dead pilgrims. Officials of Haj missions of different countries were seen going through various hospitals and mortuaries to identify their dead pilgrims.

The Indian mission has identified 27 bodies as hailing from India. The list of their names was released to the press here on Friday afternoon.

According to some initial and unconfirmed reports, some 100 Egyptians pilgrims were also among the dead. Hujjaj from Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Britain were also among those killed in the stampede that occurred on Thursday at around 1:10pm local time.

A large number of people were seen looking for their missing near and dear ones in the aftermath of the incident.

The authorities have displayed photographs of the dead at the mortuaries and hospitals. There was confusion and mess and it was difficult for people to look for their missing relatives.

According to a Saudi ministry of interior spokesperson, Major-General Mansour bin Sultan Al-Turki, people had broken out into a stampede when the luggage of some pilgrims fell down the bridge with a loud sound, creating panic.

He also attributed the tragic incident to the insistence of majority pilgrims to stone at noon and in a hurry.

The dead and injured included several Pakistanis. Pakistani ambassador in Saudi Arabia Admiral (Retd) Abdul Aziz Mirza confirmed the death of only one Pakistani. The Pakistani Haj mission had not received any confirmation about the figures till last reports.

The stoning remained suspended for about an hour after the incident. The authorities picked up the bodies and injured from the site and cleaned the area so that the stoning could be re-started. The ritual was continuing even at Maghrib, compelling many pilgrims to stay an additional night in Mina. However, an effort was made to follow the schedule provided in advance to various camps for stoning.

Over 20,000 security men were present to streamline the movement of the pilgrims towards the stoning site and out, but they could prevent the tragedy.

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