Shams Ahsan Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Many of the victims of the Makkah crane crash were buried at a cemetery in Al-Moaissem near Mina on Monday. Paperwork and identification formalities were completed on Sunday night. Clearance papers were issued on Monday. Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak said the Haram police set up a desk at the mortuary itself to expedite the paperwork. The kin of the deceased were given the option of either burying the dead here or transporting them to their home countries. Most of the pilgrims opted to bury the dead here. Funeral prayers were performed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Indian pilgrim Syed Imtiaz Ahmed, who lost his wife, sounded much better on Monday as he waited to receive his wife's body. Recounting the day when the tragedy struck the pilgrims, Imtiaz said he and his wife had gone to the Grand Mosque for Asr (afternoon) prayer. After the prayer, his wife wanted to spend time in the Haram. So she asked him to go back to the room. She was sitting near the Safa side when the debris from a portion of the roof hit her spinal cord. She had no external injuries. Pakistan Consul General Aftab Ahmed Khokher told Saudi Gazette that the consulate had processed paperwork for two of the 11 deceased Pakistani nationals. Out of the 11, only four or five were on Haj visas, he said, adding that the rest were either residents or were on visit visas. He said that all missing Pakistani nationals following the crane crash accident have been accounted for. There are 22 people under treatment in three hospitals in Makkah, Khokher said. Meanwhile, 1,030,584 pilgrims had arrived from abroad till Sunday, according to statistics of the General Directorate of Passports.
