Four Indians among 244 killed

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />MINA: At least 244 Muslim pilgrims including four Indians were crushed to death and the same number injured in a human tide at the climax of the annual <a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/450768.cms" target="_blank">Haj pilgrimage</a> in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="32.1%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><a href="http://thetimesofindia.online/articleshow/468887.cms" target="_blank"><img src="/photo/469534.cms" alt="/photo/469534.cms" border="0" /></a></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Medics help an old pilgrim after the stampede.</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">One more Indian died in the stampede at the annual Haj pilgrimage, taking the total number of the country''s nationals killed to four, an official said on Monday.Abdul Rehman, son of Abdul Raheem, (passport No 44821) was the latest casualty from India in the tragedy that killed 244 people, Indian Consul General Syed Akbaruddin said.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Rehman, 70, hailed from Tonk in Rajasthan. Another victim Mohammed Mohiuddin from Malda, West Bengal (passport number 39503), who was caught in the stampede, died later of a heart attack, Akbaruddin said quoting the victim''s wife. The other two Indians killed were identified as Mohammed Ali, son of Ahmed Kutty, 40, from Kozhikode (passport number 22889) and Gulam Mohamed Mir, son of Mohamed Abdulla Mir, from Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir (passport number 53546).</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Akbaruddin said the Indian mission was waiting for details from Saudi authorities to find out how many more of the 244 officially declared dead following the stampede were Indians. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"There were 244 pilgrims who died in the incident in Jamarat and 244 who were injured," Pilgrimage Affairs and Endowments Minister Iyad bin Amin Madani told reporters without giving a breakdown of the nationalities.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />"Some pilgrims were not organised and there was a crush by people carrying personal belongings which caused obstacles (to movement)," the minister added.<br /><br />The disaster happened after around two million pilgrims flocked to Jamarat Bridge in Mina to throw pebbles at pillars representing the devil.<br /><br />Madani said the movement of pilgrims had been well controlled between midnight on Saturday and 8.30 am on Sunday before the start of the crush.<br /><br />"I assure you that all the preparations are always made, but we don''t always know God''s intentions. What happened will be evaluated," he said.<br /><br />The minister said another 272 pilgrims had died of natural causes during the Haj.<br /><br />The pilgrimage is a duty for every able-bodied Muslim once in a lifetime who can afford it.<br /><br />The Haj has witnessed deadly stampedes almost every year. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in a pedestrian tunnel at the holy city of Mecca. Last year 14 people were trampled to death. In 2001, 35 people died in a stampede at the bridge and 119 were killed in a similar incident in 1998.<br /><br /><formid=367815><br /></formid=367815></div> </div>