Hajj stampede: Indian death toll rises to 81, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said the death toll of Indians in the September 24 Mina Haj stampede has risen to 81. "Seven more Indian pilgrims have been identified among the deceased, which takes total number of Indian pilgrims who have died in Haj tragedy to 81," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here.

Swarup also said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sent Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh to Jeddah to intervene with the Saudi authorities to complete the identification process of the dead pilgrims at the earliest. "While in Jeddah, our minister met the Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih. The ministry of health is the nodal ministry in the process of identification of the deceased pilgrims," he added.

MEA spokesperson also added that General Singh has sought the intervention of the minister in finding the identities of all the deceased Indian pilgrims. "General Singh also conveyed that several missing case are still pending with the Haj mission and this could be resolved only after the identification of the missing pilgrims is complete," Swarup added.