286 Indian pilgrims die during and after Haj in Saudi Arabia

Srinagar, Jan 24 (UNI) As many as 13 more Indian Haj pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia since January 20, taking the total casualties to 286 so far, reports received here said today.

Majority of the pilgrims died of natural causes, mainly due to cardiac arrest, while some have been killed in road accidents.

While 58 deceased pilgrims were from Uttar Pradesh, 53 belonged to Kerala, 25 were from Karnataka, 24 from Maharashtra, 20 each from Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, 16 from Andhra Pradesh, 13 each from Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir, 12 from Rajasthan, nine belonged to Madhya Pradesh, seven from West Bengal, four from Uttaranchal, three from Asam, two each from Delhi, Haryana and Puducherry and one each belonged to Manipur, Jharkhand and Orissa.

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

The five-day Haj ended on January one without the deadly crowding or violent clashes which had marred the pilgrimage in 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