Hyderabad: Two women Haj pilgrims from Hyderabad were among 11 Indians who died in the crane crash accident at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
More than 100 pilgrims died when a huge crane fell at the Grand Mosque on Friday (September 11).
The two deceased from Hyderabad have been identified as Shameem Bano and Khader Bee, who had gone for Haj through private tour operator Fazal Tours.
The Indian consulate general in Jeddah confirmed this late Sunday, hours after Haj Committee officials announced that a couple from Andhra Pradesh were also among the dead.
Abdul Khader, 38 and his wife Fatima Begum, 32 hailed from Machilipatnam in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana State Haj Committee's special officer S.A. Shukoor told IANS on Sunday night that the bodies of the couple were identified in Mina Hospital.
Nineteen Indians, including three from Hyderabad, were among the 331 injured.
According to the Jeddah mission, Saudi authorities had displayed photos of 108 killed in the tragedy. As many as 83 missing cases were registered with the Indian Mission. Ten of them, including three from Maharashtra, are still reported missing.
Nine missing Indians identified by their relatives on Sunday are -- Mohammed Abdul Khader and Fatima Begum (Andhra Pradesh), Shameem Banu and Khader Bee (Telangana), Hassan Kharaj (Jammu and Kashmir), Zakira Begum (Karnataka), Zafar Sheikh (Maharashtra), Tabassum (Punjab) and Mohammed Hanif (Uttar Pradesh).
The officials on Saturday had identified two victims - Moniza Ahmed (West Bengal) and Muameena Ismail (Kerala).
The external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in tweets on Sunday that "after opening of mortuary on Sunday evening, officials working with relatives have confirmed that nine more Indians have unfortunately died" in the accident.
He said the Indian mission in Jeddah was extending all possible assistance to the families of the 11 deceased pilgrims to complete the formalities in Makkah.
He said Indian officials in Makkah were continuing to provide assistance to the 19 injured Indian pilgrims.
The Indian mission has published its 24/7 helpline -- 00966125458000, 00966125496000 -- and toll free number 8002477786 for pilgrims within Saudi Arabia, the ministry statement said.
Over 136,000 pilgrims from India will be performing Haj this year. The Haj rituals will begin on September 21.
A total of 5,436 pilgrims left from Hyderabad embarkation point through the Haj Committee. They include 2,963 from Telangana, 1,819 from Andhra Pradesh and 654 from Karnataka.
