Ghana’s Hajj board has launched a probe into the possibility of any Ghanaian Muslim pilgrim being involved in Thursday’s stampede at Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Advertisement
A woman pilgrim from Hyderabad identified as Bibi Jaan was also killed in the stampede, said S A Shukoor, special officer of Telangana State Haj Committee.
According to Press TV, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, held the Saudi authorities responsible for the deadly incident.
Thursday’s incident comes almost two weeks after 109 people were killed when a construction crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, during preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage.
At least 717 Hajj pilgrims were killed – and at least 800 injured – in a stampede that occurred near the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, according to Saudi officials. More than 160,000 tents are set up nearby to house Hajj visitors. “But so far we know that over 700 people have been confirmed dead, but for now we can’t confirm whether any Ghanaian is involved until later in the afternoon”. People tripped over those in wheelchairs, who also fell to the ground. People were climbing over one another just to breathe”, said one of the survivors, Abdullah Lotfy, 44, from Egypt. “It was like a wave.
Following the accident, the Chinese delegation ceased activities during regular hours, rescheduling plans in order to avoid large crowds and high temperatures. “There was no preparation”.
Riyadh has steered heavy investment into Mecca’s infrastructure over the past decade in order to improve safety during the pilgrimage.
The street where the crush happened is said to be about 12m (36ft) wide with tall gates on both sides, behind which are the tents of Hajj tour groups.
Laying the blame for the deaths on “improper measures” and “mismanagement”, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced three days of mourning.
Advertisement
This year, around 2 million people from more than 180 countries took part in the five-day pilgrimage, which ends Saturday.
