This was published 9 years ago
Mecca stampede: Australians accounted for following deadly Haj crush
By Megan Levy
No Australians are believed to be among the more than 700 pilgrims killed and 800 injured in a catastrophic stampede near Mecca in Saudi Arabia on one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar, authorities say.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [DFAT] said the Australian embassy in Riyadh was in close contact with Saudi authorities following the crush that occurred about 9am on Thursday, local time, as millions of Muslims were making their pilgrimage, or Haj, to the city of Mecca.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims on Thursday make their way to perform the last rite of the Haj in Mina. Credit: AP
At least 717 people have been confirmed dead and 863 injured after the stampede at an intersection in Mina, about 10 kilometres east of Mecca, on the first day of Eid al-Adha.
Saudi authorities had told Australian embassy officials that "at this stage no Australians have been affected by this tragedy," a DFAT spokeswoman said on Friday morning.
"The Australian embassy will continue to work closely with Saudi authorities to determine whether any Australians have been affected."
ZamZam Hajj Group, a Sydney-based travel agency that organises Haj tours, said all 80 Australians who had travelled to Saudi Arabia with the group were safe and well.
"We've messaged our people and everyone is fine and accounted for," said Masen Abou-Zolof, a spokesman for ZamZam Hajj Group..
"There were a lot of people [in Australia] initially who were stressing out, trying to get in contact with their people overseas. But everyone has been accounted for."
He said there was considerable congestion on phone lines in the hours after the tragedy, making it difficult to get in touch with loved ones in the area.
Mr Abou-Zolof estimated about 3500 Australians travelled to Saudi Arabia each year for Haj.
He said ZamZam, based in Riverwood in Sydney's south, also had contacted other Australian groups that had organised tours to Mecca, and all had reported that their travellers were safe and well.
"It's a very large area," he said. "None of our people were very close to the incident to have seen anything."
DFAT advised people who were concerned for the welfare of family and friends in Mecca to first try to contact their loved ones directly.
If they could not be contacted, they were advised to contact DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 62613305 from overseas, or within Australia on 1300 555 135.