47 PAKISTANI PILGRIMS INJURED IN MAKKAH CRANE ACCIDENT: FO

Riyadh, 28 Dhulqo’dah 1436/12 September 2015 (MINA) – At least 47 Pakistani pilgrims were in injured in Makkah’s Grand Mosque accident which caused at least 107 pilgrims to lose their lives, Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalillulah confirmed on Saturday, Pakistan Tribune reported.

“Out of the 47 injured Pakistani pilgrims, 22 are under treatment in various hospitals, while 25 others received minor injuries and were discharged after treatment,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf told Radio Pakistan, that out of the 22 injured, seven are in critical condition.

“We are in constant contact with the Saudi authorities and we have been informed that Pakistani doctors are also providing medical aid to the injured,” he said.

Hajj will go ahead after deadly crane collapse: Saudi official

This year’s Hajj pilgrimage will go ahead despite a crane collapse which killed more than 100 people at the Grand Mosque of Makkah, a Saudi official told AFP on Saturday.

“It definitely will not affect the hajj this season and the affected part will probably be fixed in a few days,” said the official, who declined to be named.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has extended all possible help to the kingdom, directing its ambassador in Riyadh to visit patients in hospitals.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also expressed his deep condolences over the unfortunate incident, Radio Pakistan reported.

Nearly 100,000 Pakistanis are in Saudi Arabia to perform hajj.

Religious affairs ministry emergency cell

The Ministry for Religious Affairs, which oversees hajj arrangements, has formed an emergency cell which people can contact to get information about their relatives.

People can call the cell in Lahore at: 042-111725425, or they can call the liaison in Saudi Arabia on: 8001166622.

A massive construction crane crashed into Makkah’s Grand Mosque in stormy weather Friday, killing at least 107 people and injuring 238, Saudi authorities said, less than a fortnight before the hajj pilgrimage starts.

The civil defence authority said on Twitter that emergency teams were sent to the scene after a “crane fell at the Grand Mosque.”(T/R04/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)