Mina: At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed yesterday in a stampede outside the holy city of Makkah, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual Haj pilgrimage for 25 years. At least 863 were injured.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said he had ordered a review of Haj plans after the disaster, in which two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometres east of Makkah, on their way to performing the “stoning of the devil” ritual at Jamarat.
King Salman offered deep condolences. “We have instructed concerned authorities to review the operations plan ... (and) to raise the level of organisation and management to ensure that the guests of God perform their rituals in comfort and ease,” he said.
Interior Ministry spokesman General Mansour Al Turki said investigation would look into what caused an unusual mass of pilgrims to congregate at the location of the disaster. “The reason for that is not known yet,” he told a news conference in Mina.
Al Turki said the stampede was caused when “a large number of pilgrims were in motion at the same time” at an intersection of two streets in Mina. “The great heat and fatigue of the pilgrims contributed to the large number of victims,” he said. Temperatures in Mina had reached 46 degrees Celsius yesterday.
Photographs published on the Twitter feed of Saudi Civil Defence showed pilgrims lying on stretchers while emergency workers in high-visibility jackets lifted them into an ambulance.
A minister blamed the pilgrims, saying they had not followed Haj rules. “Many pilgrims move without respecting the timetables” set for the Haj, Health Minister Khaled Al Falih told El Ekhbariya television. “If the pilgrims had followed instructions, this type of accident could have been avoided.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who chairs the kingdom’s Haj committee, met senior pilgrimage officials in Mina and ordered an investigation, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The findings will be submitted to King Salman “who will take appropriate measures”, SPA added.
There was little immediate information on the nationalities of the dead, though officials in Turkey said at least 18 of its citizens were reported missing. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that 125 Iranians were among the dead. Fars reported that Tehran summoned the Saudi charge d’affaires to lodge an official complaint over the disaster.
The stampede began at around 9am at Street 204, shortly after Civil Defence said on Twitter it was dealing with a “crowding” incident in Mina, about 5km from Makkah. Nearly two million people from across the globe were attending the Haj.
Civil Defence said it was still counting the dead, who included pilgrims from different countries. Foreign embassies were working to identify and assist their citizens caught up in the stampede. More than 220 ambulances and 4,000 rescue workers had been sent in to help the injured. Some of the wounded were evacuated by helicopters.
After the incident, helicopters patrolled overhead and ambulances crowded the streets rushing the injured to hospital. At one facility, a steady stream of ambulances discharged pilgrims on stretchers.
Foreign capitals sent their condolences, with Washington calling the stampede “heartbreaking”. “We join you in mourning the tragic loss of these faithful pilgrims,” US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. British Prime Minister David Cameron and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also offered condolences.
The disaster came as the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims marked Eid Al Adha.
Official figures released yesterday said 1,952,817 pilgrims had performed this year’s Haj, including almost 1.4 million foreigners.
Agencies
Doha: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable of condolences to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia following the death of pilgrims due to the stampede in Mina, praying to Allah Almighty to rest their souls in eternal peace and paradise. The Emir also wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani sent a similar cable to King Salman.
Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani also sent a cable of condolences to King Salman. QNA
Makkah: Qatari Haj Mission confirmed the safety of all pilgrims from the country and said there were no injuries or deaths among them.
An official source at the mission said that immediately after the stampede in Mina, the mission was briefed on the safety of the pilgrims and that all pilgrims are safe and are completing their rituals safely and quietly.QNA
