RIYADH: All 7,200 Filipino pilgrims in Makkah are safe, according to Philippine Consul General in Jeddah Imelda Panolong. A total of 7,500 pilgrims from the Philippines will perform Haj this year.

In a statement to a Philippine radio station, Panolong said that there are no reports of Filipino casualties in the crane crash at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Panolong said some Filipinos were in the mosque, but were far from the accident site.

Speaking from his accommodations in Makkah, pilgrim Saleh Cadalay, a native of Tugaya, told Arab News that he and his group were not inside the Grand Mosque at the time of the crane crash.

“None of our Filipino brothers and sisters, be it a pilgrim or worker, was hurt in Friday’s tragic incident at the Masjid Al-Haram,” said Datths Piang Alonto, head of the Bangsamoro Overseas Solidarity.

“Our group is constantly monitoring the situation of our pilgrims,” he said.

Elsewhere, quoted by a Manila bulletin, NCMF Secretary Yasmin Busran Lao said that 7,200 of Filipinos have already reached Makkah as of Friday, while 300 of the total 7,500 are still in Madinah. “So far there is no reported Filipino casualty,” she observed.