REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MECCA -- The Indonesian Hajj Pilgrimage Committee (PPIH) has said it does not expect many Indonesians to be among the victims of the stampede incident in Mina, Mecca, that happened on Thursday morning.
Head of the PPIH for Mecca Desk (Daker), Arsyad Hidayat, said the incident took place along Arab Road 204 which is not the lane usually taken by the Indonesian hajjis going to perform the Jamarah hurling ritual.
He said that the Indonesian pilgrims in Mina were divided into 52 maktabs (divisions), of which 45 maktabs are in Harratul Lisan of Mina and seven maktabs are in Mina Jadid.
Hidayat said the Indonesian pilgrims in the Harratul Lisan would not have taken the Arab 204 lane but must have gone via the Muassim Tunnel while heading to the Jamarah to perform the ritual (the distance is about one kilometer).
They usually passed by the King Fahd Road or lane. The Arab Lane 204 where the incident took place is located to the left of the King Fahd Road.
"So, the possibility of a large number of Indonesian pilgrims having fallen victims is small," he said.
Apart from that, the PPIH has asked the chiefs of the hajj groups or flight batches to ask the pilgrims not to perform the jamarah hurling ritual between 08.00 - 11.00 local time because these are the rush hours for the pilgrims to perform this ritual.
"For September 25 and September 26, we have called upon the pilgrims not to carry out the throwing event between 13.00 - 16.00 hours local time," he said.
He said that the Mina stampede incident occurred because the pilgrims who were going to perform the hurling ritual at Jamarah Aqabah at 07.40 local time, suddenly stopped in the Arab lane, causing pilgrims behind them to push those ahead. This led to the stampede.
Most of the victims who died were either elderly people or women. Till this hour, the number of the dead was recorded at 220 while 450 others were injured.
Most of them came from Arab regions and African countries, such as Egypt.
Up to 12.00 local time, one Indonesian pilgrim was reported dead in the incident. The Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister visited the Al-Jisr hospital to gather information about the pilgrims who had fallen victims.
The hospital has been assigned as a reference medical facility for the victims.
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