220 Indian pilgrims die during and after Haj

Srinagar, Jan 10 (UNI) As many as 220 Indian pilgrims, including eight from Jammu and Kashmir, died during Haj and after in Saudi Arabia so far, reports received here said today.

Majority of the pilgrims died of natural causes, mainly due to cardiac arrest, with few getting killed in road accidents.

While 47 deceased pilgrims were from Kerala, 44 belonged to Uttar Pradesh, 22 each from Karnataka and Maharashtra, 18 from Tamil Nadu, 13 each from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, 10 from Rajasthan, eight from Jammu and Kashmir, six from Bihar, five from Madhya Pradesh, four from West Bengal, two each from Uttaranchal and Asom and one each from Manipur, Haryana, Puducherry, and Delhi.

The deceased Haj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir included Ghulam Qadir Bhat, the brother of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

However, the five-day Haj ended on January one without the deadly crowding or violent clashes which marred the pilgrimage other years.

Last January, about 362 pilgrims were crushed to death during a stone-throwing ritual at the Jamarat Bridge in the worst Haj tragedy in 16 years. In 2004, 250 pilgrims died at the same spot.

All able-bodied Muslims are required to perform the Haj at least once in their lifetime, if they can afford it. The pilgrims retrace the steps of the Prophet Mohammad in one of the world's biggest annual mass movement of the people on the planet.

UNI