Three Kenyans have been confirmed dead in the Hajj stampede that killed over 700 people in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says one Kenyan was injured and has been admitted to hospital for treatment.
The government says a total of 4,950 Kenyans are attending this year’s Hajj. “Our Ambassador in Riyadh and his officials are in Mecca and are working around the clock to account for all Kenyans at Hajj,” says Foreign Affairs and International Trade Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho.
He said families of the affected people have been informed as the government will continue to monitor the situation through the Kenyan Mission to Saudi Arabia. The government consequently sent a message of condolences to bereaved families in Kenya and other countries and wished those injured a quick recovery.
At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed yesterday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual hajj pilgrimage for 25 years.
At least 863 others were injured. This was the worst disaster to occur at the pilgrimage since July 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims suffocated in a tunnel near Mecca. Both incidents occurred on Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), Islam’s most important feast and the day of the stoning ritual.
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