Pilgrims walk near a construction crane which crashed in the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on September 12, 2015. — Reuters
Riyadh: Two Indian Haj pilgrims, one from Kerala and the other from West Bengal, were among the 107 people killed in the crane accident at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca, while 15 Indians are among the injured, officials said on Saturday.
“Regrettably we have been informed that two Indians have been killed in the unfortunate accident,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi.
The deceased pilgrims have been identified as Moniza Ahmed from West Bengal and Muameena Ismail from Kerala, the Indian Consulate in Jeddah said.
It said the injured included three each from Maharashtra, Telangana, UP and MP, two each from Delhi and West Bengal, and one each from Punjab, Bihar and Assam.
Swarup said the officials from the Indian Consulate in Jeddah have been on the ground and have set up a 24X7 helpline to provide information and assistance.
They have been monitoring the situation through the night, Swarup said.
The spokesperson had earlier said that 11 pilgrims from the Haj Committee of India and four from Private Tour Operators were injured.
Over 100 people died when a massive construction crane crashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque yesterday with scores more injured, days before the annual Haj pilgrimage.
A part of the massive crane collapsed as a result of strong winds and heavy rains, media reports said.
Thousands of pilgrims, including hundreds of Indians, have already arrived in Mecca for Haj. Saudi authorities have ordered a probe into the incident.
The haj, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, has been prone to disasters in the past, mainly from stampedes as pilgrims rush to complete rituals and return home. Hundreds of pilgrims died in such a crush in 2006.
Saudi authorities have since spent vast sums to expand the main haj sites and improve Mecca`s transport system, in an effort to prevent more disasters.
Security services often ring Islam`s sacred city with checkpoints and other measures to prevent people arriving for the pilgrimage without authorisation.
Those procedures, aimed at reducing crowd pressure which can lead to stampedes, fires and other hazards, have been intensified in recent years as security threats grow throughout the Middle East. — PTI
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