Abdullah Al-Dahhas

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

MAKKAH — Many critically injured pilgrims and dead bodies from the Mina stampede incident are yet to be identified as family members — many of them abroad — are desperately waiting for every bit of news.



Mohammad Arshad Ahmed, 24, and his three sisters have been spending sleepless nights in India ever since they lost contact with their parents Mohammad Irshad Ahmed and Sadiya Begum who had gone for Haj. Their names like those of many others have been put on the missing list after the Mina stampede. 



Emad Al-Abeed, a Sudanese expatriate, said his cousin had come to the Kingdom to perform Haj, but he lost contact with her on the day of Eid when the Mina stampede occurred.



“I came from the Eastern Province, where I work, to Al-Moaissem Emergency Complex waiting for any news. My 60-year-old cousin came to the Kingdom through a Sudanese Haj operator. The operator informed me that my cousin and three other women are missing,” said Al-Abeed.



Yousif Mohammad, another Sudanese expatriate, said his aunt and mother-in-law went for Haj and they never came back.



“I lost contact with my aunt on the day of Eid, the day of the stampede. I am just waiting for any news about her,” said Mohammad.



Saudi Gazette has received several emails from people in India, Pakistan and other countries desperately seeking information on their relatives missing after the stampede.



“If you have any information regarding my father, Dr. Mahtab Alam, kindly let me know.



“My family has been looking for him since the day of the incident (Mina stampede). We will be highly obliged,” wrote a desperate son from Bulandshahr, a city in Uttar Pradesh in India.



Naeemallah, a Pakistani pilgrim, said he was along with his brother at the site where the Mina stampede took place.



“I vividly remember what happened. Pilgrims were marching on 204 Street in Mina when the crowd suddenly stopped. The weather was extremely hot and people began fainting from the heat. I was pushed away before the stampede happened and I lost my brother. Later I found him taking his last breath. He died in my arms,” said Naeemallah.