satan gets 345!

NEW DELHI (AFP) - At least 26 Indians were among hundreds of Muslim pilgrims crushed to death in a rush to hurl pebbles at symbols of Satan during the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, India's foreign ministry said.
"We know that 26 Indians have died" in Thursday's stampede, foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told AFP on Friday.
At least 345 Muslim pilgrims were trampled to death during the stoning ceremony in Mina, five kilometres (three miles) east of the holy city of Mecca, which marked the last day of the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Indian media reports said some 100 Indians were missing, but officials said many may have been separated from families and friends in the confusion and should not be presumed dead.
"I have all my officials working on this," India's junior foreign affairs minister E. Ahamed told India's NDTV television network.
Among the Indian dead were 15 women, according to a statement on the website of the Indian consulate in Saudi Arabia.
"We're establishing contact with the next-of-kin of the deceased pilgrims and offering all possible assistance in the speedy completion of burial formalities," the statement said.
Senior officials visited the injured in hospitals, the statement said. Seven pilgrims were discharged after treatment for minor injuries. Another six Indians in hospitals were out of danger, it said.
India has one of the world's largest Muslim population.
According to 2001 census figures, India's Muslim community now stands at 138 million, or 13.4 percent of the total population.
Thursday's stampede tragedy was the latest in a succession to hit the pilgrimage despite efforts by Saudi authorities to avoid a repeat of disasters like the one that killed 1,426 people in 1990.