TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-The death toll from a stampede on Thursday during the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has risen to 717 people of various nationalities, the Saudi civil defence said.
It said that the crush, which was caused by large numbers of people gathering at Mina outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca where some two million are performing hajj, had also left 805 people injured.
One Indonesian pilgrim died in the unfortunate stampede, Indonesian Pilgrim Mecca Coordinator Arsyad Hidayat confirmed on Thursday.
Arsyad could not confirm the name and the group. He said the information was obtained from the deceased spouse.
Arsyad said the road where the incident happened is not the road that is usually used by Indonesian pilgrims to throw jamrah.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry will set up a hotline to continue to provide the latest information for families of pilgrims in Indonesia related to the events in Mina, Saudi Arabia.
Family of pilgrims from Indonesia who want to know the latest information can call the hotline +966 543 603 154.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to collect information and together with Indonesian Hajj officers and Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Saifuddin as Indonesian pilgrim leader (Amirul Hajj), to investigate further whether there are other Indonesian citizens who died in the incident.
ANTARA | REUTERS | NZM
