Hajj Stampede: Saudi Arabia Says 700 Dead, 800 Injured In Mina, Near Mecca
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Tags: Hajj pilgrimage
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More than 700 people died and at least 800 were injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage outside the holy city of Mecca on Thursday, Saudi Arabian officials said.
It was the deadliest incident to hit the annual Hajj in years and the second this season, coming less than two weeks after 107 worshipers were killed when strong winds toppled a crane at Mecca’s Grand Mosque.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defense directorate said the crush happened at around 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) after there was a “sudden rise” in the number of pilgrims traveling along a major road leading to the site of a stone-throwing ritual.
This “resulted in a stampede among the pilgrims and the collapse of a large number of them,” the directorate said in a statement. Emergency services were immediately dispatched and officials prevented any more pedestrians from heading to the area, it added.
The cause of the crush was not immediately clear. Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Faleh said in a statement that authorities were investigating whether it began after some pilgrims failed to follow the signposted directions, although he did not provide any evidence to support this theory.
In the hours after the tragedy, the death toll steadily climbed. By 3:30 p.m. local time, the number of dead stood at 717 and the number of injured at 805.
More than 220 rescue vehicles and 4,000 people were helping respond to the incident.
Saud Al Sharif, a government employee, was nearby when the stampede broke out.
“It was insanely busy and people were coming from both directions,” the 30-year-old told the press
“People were climbing over one another just to breathe,” said Abdullah Lotfy of Egypt. “It was like a wave. You go forward and suddenly you go back.”
Images of the chaotic aftermath showed dozens of bodies lying in the streets, some of their faces covered in the white garments traditionally worn for the pilgrimage. Emergency vehicles lined the road and officials in high-visibility jackets attempted to tend to the injured.
The annual Hajj pilgrimage which began on Tuesday attracts around 2 million Muslims to Mecca.
Mina is the site where pilgrims carry out the “stoning of the devil,” a ritual part of the hajj where people throw pebbles against three walls. The stampede occurred along the road leading to the stone-collection point.
It was the deadliest incident to hit the annual Hajj in years and the second this season, coming less than two weeks after 107 worshipers were killed when strong winds toppled a crane at Mecca’s Grand Mosque.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defense directorate said the crush happened at around 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) after there was a “sudden rise” in the number of pilgrims traveling along a major road leading to the site of a stone-throwing ritual.
This “resulted in a stampede among the pilgrims and the collapse of a large number of them,” the directorate said in a statement. Emergency services were immediately dispatched and officials prevented any more pedestrians from heading to the area, it added.
