Indonesia criticizes Saudi Arabia for haj disaster response
Jakarta: Indonesia criticised Saudi Arabia yesterday for its slow response to the haj pilgrimage disaster in Mina, saying its diplomats only received full access to the dead and injured days after the crush.
The criticism from Indonesia, the Muslim world’s most populous country, comes as its officials, as well as those in India and Pakistan, say that Saudi officials gave foreign diplomats some 1,100 pictures of those killed in last week’s disaster.
The Saudi Health Ministry’s latest figures, released on Saturday, put the toll at 769 people killed and 934 injured in the stampede.
Authorities in the kingdom only granted Indonesian diplomats full access to the dead last night, including forensic records like fingerprints, said Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, an official in Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry.
He said 46 Indonesian pilgrims died in the Mina crush, while 10 were injured and 90 remain missing.
Saudi authorities have said that the disaster began when two large waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road last Thursday during the final days of the annual haj in Mina near the holy city of Mecca.
