As the massive stampede at the Haj raised serious safety questions with Saudi Arabia today facing mounting criticism, 14 pilgrims from India were among the 717 killed in the worst tragedy to hit the annual pilgrimage in the kingdom in 25 years.
Of the 14 Indian victims, nine hailed from Gujarat, three from Tamil Nadu and one each from Telangana and Kerala.
"Our consul general Jeddah reports loss of 14 Indian lives in stampede," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
Thirteen Indians were also among over 800 people injured in the tragedy, she added.
"The exact number will be known after confirmation by Saudi authorities," she further said.
As Muslim pilgrims somberly resumed the final rites of haj today, Saudi Arabia's King Salman ordered a safety review and a "revision" of the Haj organisation.
Leading the criticism against Saudi Arabia, its regional rival Iran expressed indignation at the deaths of 131 of its nationals at the world's largest annual gathering of people and suggesting Riyadh was incapable of managing the event.
As the blame game erupted, Saudi Arabia on its part suggested pilgrims ignoring crowd control rules bore some blame for the stampede. At least 863 pilgrims were also injured in the mishap in Mina during the Haj's last major ritual.
The stampede "was perhaps because some pilgrims moved without following instructions by the relevant authorities," Saudi Health Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement.
King Salman ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the incident during the five-day pilgrimage in which around 2 million people from more than 180 countries took part. The pilgrimage in which 1.5 lakh pilgrims from India also took part ends tomorrow.
Witnesses to a stampede people blamed Saudi authorities and initially said they were afraid to continue the rituals.
In the view of an Egyptian worshipper who identified himself only by his first name, Ahmed, "the fault is not on the pilgrims."
"Saudi Arabia is spending a lot on haj but there is no organisation," he said, complaining that the flow of people into and out of the tent camp needed to be better managed.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.
The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different direction at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls.
It occurred at the intersection of two streets leading to Jamarat, about five km from Makkah.
It was the second major accident this year for pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, killing 109 people, including many foreigners.
