Other fatal incidents have included the death of 244 pilgrims who were crushed in Mina in 2004 while more than 360 pilgrims were killed in a 2006 stampede also at Mina.
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Jahangiri reiterated it’s “definite and clear” to Iran that “the Saudi government is responsible for this disaster… and has to provide answers”.
The Muslim Council of Wales has revealed that it has been unable to get in contact with a number of groups that travelled to Saudi Arabia to take part in the event.
Jose on Thursday said they have not received information if there were Filipinos involved in the stampede.
“Many Nigerian pilgrims are still missing, they have not returned to their camps”. READ ALSO: Stampede at haj kills over 7OO pilgrims near Mecca One group of devotees had been making their way towards the Jamaraat Bridge, a large structure used by pilgrims to throw stones at three walls as part of the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual, while other pilgrims were leaving when the crowds met on Thursday morning.
This isn’t the first Hajj pilgrimage to turn deadly.
Iran announced that 90 of its nationals were among the victims, and accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of safety errors, while pilgrims at the site blamed the authorities and said they were afraid to continue the annual religious rituals.
In clashes with Saudi security forces, more than 400 people were killed, a lot of them Iranians.
Thousands of Iranian worshippers have marched in Tehran after Friday prayers to denounce the “incompetency” of Saudi Arabia in handling the annual hajj pilgrimage. “We were shocked, but we can do nothing, this was their fate”, said Lolo Omar, a pilgrim from Eritrea, said near the site of the disaster in the town of Mina, just outside Islam’s holiest city, Mecca.
King Salman, who ascended the throne in January, reportedly caused upset within Saudi ruling circles through some of his actions, and his early decision to bomb the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen has sharpened antagonisms with Iran, with which Saudi Arabia’s relations have worsened of late, not least on account of Iran’s recent nuclear agreement with the West.
Mina is a large valley about 5 kilometers from Mecca that has been the site of hajj stampedes in past years.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said: “On behalf of the people of Singapore, I extend our heartfelt condolences to Your Majesty and the people of Saudi Arabia“. Talking to pilgrims on the ground yesterday, the main reason for this accident was that the King, in his palace in Mina, was receiving dignitaries and for this reason they closed two entrances to where the stoning happened… The hajj has drawn some 2 million people from over 180 countries this year.
He said any inquiry needs to be led by Saudi Arabia, but said the the British Government could “push the Saudis to hold the inquiry and to make sure that it’s open and transparent”.
He wrote: “Taking place on the holy day of Eid al-Adha, normally a day of celebration, we share the pain of this bad tragedy all the more, recognising the great tradition of pilgrimage that is found in both our faiths, in which people seek to draw closer to God”.
Saudi authorities say at least 719 people were killed and 863 were wounded in the disaster.
He said this has prevented any major accidents in nearly a decade and said this shows that lessons have been learned.
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The governor of Mecca region, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has ordered an investigation into the incident and was heading to the mosque.
