Mecca Stampede...Pratt Commiserates With Families Of Affected Pilgrims

Kwesi Pratt, Editor-in-Chief of Insight newspaper, has commiserated with families of the over 700 pilgrims involved in a fatal accident at Mecca.

At least 800 people have reportedly been crushed to death while hundred others sustained injuries during a stampede of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Scores of bodies were disclosed in horrifying pictures lying on the floor dead with some unconscious due to the incident.

Speaking on Kokrokoo, Mr. Pratt described the disaster as the "worst disaster" ever in 25 years since a similar incident occurred in the pilgrimage.

He however proposed ways to rectify such unfortunate incidents, stressing that the pilgrimage committees should set up an international mother committee to steer affairs.

It shouldn’t go for Saudi Arabia alone. It’s for all Muslim all over the world. We admit that the visa application will come from Saudi Arabia but in the organization of pilgrimage, they should create an international community or international committee” for every person with wide knowledge base to contribute to the development and organization of the pilgrimage.

Mr. Pratt further called on Ghanaian medics to also undertake medical check-ups on the pilgrims in order to avoid contagious diseases.

According to him, a kind of respiratory disease has been diagnosed in the Middle East and so it is imperative that pilgrims from Ghana are well-checked and screened to prevent the spread of the disease.

What are the Ghanaian medical authorities doing in order to make sure that the pilgrims will not contract this disease…Do we have the means to test at the airport? Have we made arrangements to quarantine people we suspect to be suffering from Middle East Respiratory disease…What measures are we taking?” he questioned.