The count now 41
The foreign ministry yesterday confirmed that 41 Bangladeshi pilgrims were among those killed in the stampede in Mina on September 24.
In addition, 61 Bangladeshis were being treated at different hospitals in Makkah and Jeddah, said a foreign ministry statement. The statement was based on a report received from the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah.
Identities of 18 of the 41 victims have been confirmed, while names of 12 others have been found. Efforts are underway to identify others, said the statement.
Besides, at least 148 Bangladeshis are still missing, Bangladesh's Consul General Shahidul Karim told The Daily Star.
He said they were “double checking” the names of the deceased -- a task that is causing delay in disclosing their identities.
They also requested the pilgrims' relatives, pilgrims travelling together, and Hajj agents to help the Bangladesh Hajj Mission in Makkah to identify the bodies.
Meanwhile, those in Dhaka who lost their relatives in the stampede are left in suspense as they are yet to get any official communication.
Rubayat Adnan, 30, of Dhanmondi in Dhaka said it has been more than a week since he heard of the deaths of his parents -- MA Razzak Mia, 60, and Hasina Akhter, 55, -- from a relative.
“Since then, I went to the foreign ministry, religious affairs ministry, contacted the Hajj mission and the Hajj agent, but no one could confirm where my parents' bodies were kept and how and when they would be buried,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.
The foreign ministry statement said Saudi authorities would release details of the as yet unidentified pilgrims once their fingerprints records were verified.
The official death toll of the Hajj stampede is 769. However, many diplomats fear that the toll might exceed a thousand.
Iran has been most vocal about its citizens since the beginning.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Saudi Arabia for the stampede incident and demanded apology from the Saudis.
Iran has vowed to take international legal action against Saudi Arabia's rulers in this connection.
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