Egyptian death toll in Mecca hajj stampede rises to 148
The number of Egyptian pilgrims killed in the recent Mecca stampede has increased to 148 , Egypt’s Minister of Religious Endowment Mokhtar Gomaa announced on Tuesday.
According to Ahram Arabic website, Gomaa also announced that the number of Egyptians unaccounted for has decreased to 86.
The stampede occurred on Wednesday 23 September as pilgrims converged in Mena, just outside Mecca, to take part in a ritual involving the symbolic stoning of the devil.
Investigations into the hajj tragedy are being conducted by Saudi Arabian a
uthorities. Minister Gomaa heads the current Egyptian pilgrimage delegation in the Holy Land for 2015.
The latest figures released on Saturday by Saudi authorities placed the total death toll of the Mena stampede at 769, with at least 934 injured.
Almost two million pilgrims took part in the stoning ritual this year, with an estimated 62,000 Egyptians performing the hajj in 2015.
source : Ahram Online
