KARACHI: Dark clouds were setting in as Zeenat Razi Mallick, 60, walked towards the main exit of the Grand Mosque.

She had no idea that minutes after she’d leave a catastrophe would befall hundreds of pilgrims praying near the main exit. Some of them she had gotten to know over the course of her stay in Makkah. By the time she reached Azizia South — living quarters for the pilgrims — she saw people hooked onto television sets while outside a huge sandstorm blurred everything in sight.

“We had no reason to stay back that day,” she said while speaking to Dawn on telephone from Masjid-i-Ayesha, around five miles from the holy city of Makkah. A resident of North Nazimabad, she is accompanied by her husband, Razi Imam Mallick. A group of other relatives had already left for Madina to perform the remaining rituals before the beginning of Haj.

Speaking about the incident, she said: “We had already spent an entire night praying and after offering the Friday prayers, we left for our quarters around 6pm when the call for Maghrib prayers was about to take place.”

Sitting in their quarters, Zeenat watched with fear as the sandstorm was followed by heavy rain. Then the phone calls started coming in from relatives all over Pakistan. Narrating what happened next, she said: “We were the only people from our group who were in Makkah and it was presumed that we were stuck inside the mosque after a huge crane fell on top of the pilgrims. The first call I received was from our only son, Tauseef, who wanted to inquire about our well-being and make sure everyone back home knew we were fine.”

Soon after, the death toll started increasing. “We didn’t even feel that there was a crisis as by the time we reached the Grand Mosque for Fajr prayers, most of the site had been cleared and cordoned off and things were going as usual. But it is a catastrophe for the families of those who died in the incident. It could have been us,” she added.

By Sunday night, the Pakistani Consulate in Saudi Arabia confirmed the death of six Pakistani pilgrims. However, the Saudi media is still reporting the death of 15.

Speaking to Dawn, director general of Haj in Jeddah Abu Akif said they had “identified six people so far and the identification process of the remaining nine is under way”. Among those he identified include Ahmad Faiz Mohammad from Lower Dir, Amber Bahadur Shah from Mardan, Naz Mohammad from Mardan, Niaz Ali Niaz from Mohmand Agency, Ali Raza from Lahore and Gul Abdul Mannan, whose area of residence was being ascertained.

Also, the two Pakistanis under treatment are Tasneem Ahmed and Zareena

Parween from Karachi. “We are getting the contact details of most of the victims and as for the injured we can only share their passport numbers on the basis of which their families can identify them with us,” he added.

At the same time, he added, that families looking for their loved ones may contact Azizia living quarters for Haj pilgrims on the following phone numbers: 00966 0125500438 or 00966 0125500412.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play