“The search is going on at mortuaries, hospitals and elsewhere for missing Tanzanians,” said Bakwata Secretary-General Suleiman Lolila.
The Saudi Health Ministry said on Saturday that the death toll from the hajj disaster stood at 769, with 934 pilgrims injured, updating previous figures.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it had been informed by Tanzania’s embassy in Saudi Arabia that a Tanzanian pilgrim, Mahjabin Khan, was seriously injured during the stampede and one of his legs was amputated to save his life.
It said efforts had been stepped up to look for Tanzanian pilgrims who had not yet been accounted for, adding that the vast majority of Tanzanians who performed the pilgrimage were safe and on their way home. Of the 50 missing Tanzanians, 30 made their travel arrangements through Ahlu Daawa Travel Agent, 17 travelled through Khidma Travel agent and the remaining three made their arrangements through TCDO Travel Company.
The Chief Sheikh, Mufti Abubakar Zubeir bin Ally, said in a statement from Saudi Arabia that Bakwata, the government, Tanzania’s embassy in Jeddah and the Saudi authorities were working together to establish the whereabouts of the missing pilgrims.
“We are still working with our embassy and government of Saudi Arabia to establish where the missing pilgrims are,” he said.
On Saturday, Sheikh Zubeir named Tanzanians who had died in the disaster as Ms Mwanaisha Juma, Mr Mkungwe Hemedi and Mr Sefu Kitimla. The fourth victim was an unidentified woman.
The acting Tanzanian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr Ahmada Sufiani, told The Citizen by telephone that the number of Tanzanians killed in the stampede could increase. “Dozens of Tanzanian pilgrims have still not been accounted for and this means that the death toll could increase,” he said.
He added that they were currently consulting with all groups of Tanzanian pilgrims to establish the exact number of those who were missing.
President Jakaya Kikwete sent his condolences at the weekend to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia following the tragedy.
Saudi Arabia was under increasing pressure to improve safety for pilgrims in the wake of the disaster.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday accused Saudi Arabia of “incompetence” over the deadly hajj stampede, in his address to the UN General Assembly.
The number of Indonesians killed in the stampede at the hajj rose to 41 yesterday with scores more still missing, an official said, warning Jakarta faces a “race against time” to identify its citizens who died.
The stampede on Thursday during a ritual stoning of the devil near the holy Saudi city of Mecca killed 769 people, the worst disaster to strike the annual Muslim pilgrimage in a quarter of a century.
At least 144 Iranians died in the crush – the highest confirmed toll among foreign nationalities – sparking a war of words between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, initially indicated only a handful of its citizens died in the stampede but the death toll crept up over the weekend, and the religious affairs ministry confirmed yesterday that it now stood at 41.
