Tehran, Oct1, IRNA – Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi has said airplanes are waiting at the airport for Riyadh permission to fly to Saudi Arabia and bring home the bodies of the Iranian pilgrims who lost their lives during the Hajj tragedy.

Akhoundi said that Tehran has arranged some additional flights to transport the bodies of the deceased Iranian pilgrims to the country.

'An airplane is ready to fly on the runway at the Imam Khomeini International Airport but we are still waiting to receive Saudi permission,' Akhoundi told reporters on the sidelines of a local ceremony in Tehran.

'We're trying to transport the bodies to Iran through additional flights but the Saudi government has not agreed to it yet,' said the official.

He stressed that Tehran would follow up the transporting of the bodies of the deceased Iranian pilgrims to the country.

According to reports, the tragic stampede happened on September 24 when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, on their way to performing the 'stoning of the devil' ritual at Jamarat.

Over 4,600 including, 464 Iranians, were killed due to the deadly stampede.

By IRNA