An official of the Telangana State Haj Committee told IANS that the deceased had been identified as Bibi Jaan, a resident of Ranga Reddy district near Hyderabad.
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There unconfirmed stories that three Indians have died in the incident.
Minister KC Joseph said one Keralite Mohammed from Kodungaloor in Thrissur was among those killed in the stampede. It was not clear until the filing of this report whether the two persons from Kerala were being counted as stampede deaths. She was admitted at a hospital in Mina where she succumbed to injuries. Munis Ahmed Ansari of the Haj Committee of India said it had not been told about the ground situation in Mecca despite the rising demand from the pilgrims’ families. The man from Tamil Nadu who has died during Haj is Shamsuddin, 69, from Nagapatnam, Tamil Nadu. “I am deeply saddened to learn about stampede at Meena and my thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives”, she said. Recalling the final moments, shocked family members described how Jan was desperately clinging on to Mazeed’s hand when the stampede broke. Government sources for now are trying to collect more information.
Over 800 people were injured in the tragedy, the worst in 25 years.
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The State Haj Committee has set an exclusive Help Line with No. 040-2321 4193 for Telangana State and 040-2329 8793 for the Andhra Pradesh State, which will work round the clock. “The situation will be clearer by Friday”. Officials in Jeddah said that two Indian nationals were among the injured.
