Six Kenyans pilgrims dead, nine missing in Mecca tragedy - Supkem

Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) national chairman Prof Abdulghafur El-Busaidy addresses journalists at Islamia House office in Nairobi, September 29, 2015. PHOTO | JAMES EKWAM | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Prof El-Busaidy said the deceased Kenyans were buried in Mecca and their families notified.
• According to the Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih, the number of the dead has climbed to 769 while that of the injured is now 934.
• The stampede, which occurred on Thursday morning, happened during the ‘Stoning of the Devil’ ritual, the final ritual that the pilgrims engage in at the end of the Hajj.

By SAMUEL KARANJA
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The number of Kenyans who died during a stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, has risen to six, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) has said.

At least nine more pilgrims from Kenya cannot be accounted for following the tragedy, Supkem Chairman Prof Abdulghafur El-Busaidy added.

More than 700 pilgrims died during in the stampede tragedy last week.

Prof El-Busaidy said the tragedy could have been an “act of God” and could not be blamed on anybody yet.

However, he said the council would prepare a report from information gathered from Kenyans who were attending the annual pilgrimage in Mecca.

“We see this as an act of God and we cannot say the Saudi government is fully to blame, however, we will collect statements from the pilgrims and give a full report later as to what exactly happened,” he said.

Prof El-Busaidy said the deceased Kenyans were buried in Mecca and their families notified.

A WEEK’S TIME

The Supkem chairman said some of the more than 4,000 Kenyans who were attending the Hajj have already started trickling back into the country.

He said a majority of the Kenyans would begin coming back in a week’s time.

“Within two weeks, we expect all pilgrims to be back in the country and we will embark on seeking to know what took place to occasion the tragedy,” he added, during a press conference at Supkem offices in Nairobi.

According to the Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih, the number of the dead has climbed to 769 while that of the injured is now 934.

The stampede, which occurred on Thursday morning, happened during the ‘Stoning of the Devil’ ritual, the final ritual that the pilgrims engage in at the end of the Hajj.

The following day, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying three Kenyans had been confirmed dead while another one was seriously injured.

The incident came just days after a similar tragedy in which a crane collapsed in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing 107 people and injuring 238.

The hajj is a religious pilgrimage to Islamic holy sites in what is today Saudi Arabia, in the area around the city of Mecca. It is among the five pillars of Islam.

Prof El-Busaidy also called on the Saudi government to compensate all those who lost loved ones during the stampede, in the same it did to families of those who died following the collapse of the crane.