TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Dozens of RI pilgrims still missing in S. Arabia
At least 34 Indonesian pilgrims are still unaccounted for nine days after the tragic stampede that took place during Idul Adha (the Islamic Day of Sacrifice) in Mina, Saudi Arabia
Change Size
A
t least 34 Indonesian pilgrims are still unaccounted for nine days after the tragic stampede that took place during Idul Adha (the Islamic Day of Sacrifice) in Mina, Saudi Arabia.
The Indonesian haj committee (PPIH) in Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that the death toll of Indonesians from the Mina stampede rose to 95 as per the latest identification report.
'As of 8 a.m., we have identified four additional Indonesian victims in the tragedy,' head of PPIH's Mecca working area, Arsyad Hidayat, said on Saturday.
The four Indonesians confirmed dead on Saturday were Muhammad Huardi Sukri and Halijah Abu Hanifah from batch BTH 14, as well as Alipudin Sawirja Kaco and Asep Ukanda Yaya Sonjaya from batch JKS 61.
With four more deaths confirmed, Arsyad said that 34 Indonesian pilgrims had yet to report back to their groups' tents in the aftermath of the tragedy. 'Six pilgrims who sustained injuries are currently undergoing medical treatment in Saudi hospitals,' he added.
The fatal stampede took place at a crossroads on Street 204 ' one of the two main arteries leading through the camp at Mina to Jamarat, the site where pilgrims ritually stone the devil (jumrah) by hurling pebbles at three large pillars.
An Associated Press count based on official figures from countries around the world revealed that the stampede was likely to have killed more than a thousand people and injured hundreds more, making it the deadliest haj-related incident in 25 years. A similar incident in a pedestrian tunnel in 1990 claimed the lives of 1,426 pilgrims.
The Saudi government has not published an official account of the stampede, as officials are continuing their search and rescue operation in addition to identifying the row of bodies left in the wake of the incident.
Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry spokesperson Rosidin Karidi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that officials would not be able to determine the cause of the incident, nor would it be able to conclude the reason why many Indonesians were victims. Rosidin said that it depended on the results from the Saudi government's investigations.
Earlier, Rosidin said there should have been no Indonesian pilgrims in the vicinity of the stampede, as haj officials had repeatedly warned against straying from the activity schedules set for each batch of pilgrims.
'It is true that there should not have been any Indonesian pilgrims there at that time of the day. And yes, we have repeatedly reminded all pilgrims through their respective batches and group leaders to observe the jumrah according to the set schedules and routes,' he said on Friday.
The spokesman also dismissed rumors that a number of pilgrims had experienced an onset of amnesia due to poisonous gas leaks caused by the stampede.
'A number of survivors that the [religious affairs] minister met with had not shown any such signs. The minister even spoke with doctors who denied finding any symptoms,' Rosidin said.
Indonesia sends the largest number of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia annually, with as many as 168,200 people observing the haj this year.
_________________________________________
To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.
For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com
