A HUMAN rights campaigner has said he was is ‘praying for the families’ who have lost loved ones in the deadliest incident to hit the Hajj pilgrimage in 25 years.

Following Thursday’s stampede in Mina – near the Islamic holy city of Mecca – which killed at least 769 and injured ing 934, Mohammed Ayub, from Slough, insisted that the government must ‘take better care’ before issuing a visa to people before they travel to Saudi Arabia.

He explained that during his experience of the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia people get caught up in the moment and it can lead to chaos.

Mr Ayub said: “I have been there three or four times in the past, and it is chaos and the people don’t know how to behave there.

“I think the respective governments should do more to train people on how to behave when giving them a visa. They should have a training programme of a few days to teach them. Far too many people go, they should restrict the amount that travel."

“I do not know yet of any families from Slough affected by this but there are still missing people. It is a huge gathering and locating people is not easy. It’s such a big disaster and slowly they are finding people.”

Mr Ayub explained that the tragedy occurred when two groups taking separate routes collided with one another.

He said: “I pray for the families in this tragic time – it is a great loss to our world.”

Muslims embarking on the pilgrimage approach Mina, the holy site where the disaster happened, and around two million people throw stones at pillars representing the devil.

Latif Khan, founder and secretary of Jamia Masjid and Islamic Centre, said they dedicated prayers on Friday to those who have died or been injured.

“We have no bad news yet. We had prayers on Friday, dedicated to those who died and all those people who are injured and are being treated in hospital.”

There have been numerous tragedies at Hajj over the years and earlier this month, preparations for the Hajj were marred when a crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing 109 people.