Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE DISASTER IN MINA, SAUDI ARABIA
Following the disaster in Mina, Saudi Arabia on 15 April 1997 in which hundreds of pilgrims died, President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday sent a message of condolence to King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia expressing, on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of South Africa, his sincere condolences.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been in constant contact with the Saudi Arabian Government, through our Embassy in Riyadh and our Consulate-General in Jeddah as well as with the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Pretoria and all indications are that there were no South African casualties in the terrible disaster.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 16 APRIL 1997