231 Indian pilgrims die during and after Haj in Saudi Arabia

Srinagar, Jan 11 (UNI) As many as 11 more Indian Haj pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia since yesterday, taking the total casualties to 231 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 50 deceased pilgrims were from Kerala, 46 belonged to Uttar Pradesh, 23 each from Karnataka and Maharashtra, 18 from Tamil Nadu, 14 from Andhra Pradesh, 13 from Gujarat, 11 from Rajasthan, nine from Jammu and Kashmir, seven 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