Though there is no official confirmation of any Bangladesh national among the victims of the stampede in Mina during Hajj, officials have said 98 pilgrims from the country have been missing since the incident. Hajj Officer of the Bangladesh Embassy in Jeddah Md Asaduzzaman told bdnews24.com that the identification of the victims started on Saturday, two days after the incident. “Al Noor Hospital has published a list of 82 victims with photos. But no Bangladeshi was found in it,” he said. He said the embassy received complaints over disappearance of 128 after the incident. “We’ve traced 30 of them. They are well now. But 98 are still missing,” Asaduzzaman said. “We are trying to locate them,” he added. Saudi Arabia claimed the death toll in the stampede that took place while performing the ‘stoning the devil’ ritual on Thursday rose to 769. But it is yet to publish any list based on the nationalities of the victims. Asaduzzaman said: “The central morgue has also published a list of some of the deceased. We are trying to find if someone from Bangladesh is in the list.” “Today (Saturday) the camp at Mina has been closed. Now we are returning to Makkah. We may get some information after reaching Makkah,” he added. Families of pilgrims in Bangladesh claimed nine from the country died in the stampede. –bdnews24.com
