Stampede in Mina valley, the site of a vast tent city of pilgrims, leaves more than 800 others injured
At least 717 people have been crushed to death in a stampede outside Mecca and more than 850 injured in the deadliest disaster on the annual Hajj pilgrimage in a quarter of a century.
The tragedy unfolded in a dusty, overcrowded valley a few miles outside Mecca as pilgrims were preparing for one of the last major rites of their trip.
Mecca: hajj crush kills hundreds near holy city – live coverage
Panic broke out when two groups collided at an intersection in the Mina valley, where a temporary city of 160,000 tents house over 2 million people for a few days each year.
The crush left dishevelled bodies of victims and injured survivors sprawled amid rubbish and abandoned wheelchairs, videos and photos from the site showed.
More than 4,000 rescue workers raced to the scene to offer first aid and rush the most critical cases to nearby hospitals, but even as ambulances ferried bodies and injured survivors from the site of the disaster, the recriminations began.
More than 40 Iranians were among the dead, and Tehran blamed Saudi authorities for letting crowds get out of control. “Today’s incident shows mismanagement and lack of serious attention to the safety of pilgrims,” Said Ohadi, the head of Iran’s hajj organisation, was quoted saying by AFP. “There is no other explanation. The Saudi officials should be held accountable.”
The Saudi health minister, Khaled al-Falih, was equally quick to point a finger of blame at the dead themselves saying the tragedy could have been avoided if undisciplined pilgrims had “followed instructions”.
The two countries are old enemies, whose mutual distrust is amplified by sectarian differences. They have vied for regional influence for decades and are backing opposite sides in the wars in Yemen and Syria.
Pilgrims continued to arrive at the site despite the stampede, but it cast a pall over the festival of Eid al-Adha. “Work is under way to separate large groups of people and direct pilgrims to alternative routes,” the Saudi civil defence directorate said.
Thursday’s stampede was the worst disaster at the hajj since a similar tragedy in 1990, when more than 1,400 people died after panic broke out among crowds inside a tunnel.
It was also the second deadly disaster in Islam’s holiest city this month, after a construction crane collapsed killing more than 100 people and injuring over 200. The two accidents have revived questions about Saudi investment in safety measures for the 2-3 million pilgrims who make the journey to Mecca for hajj each year.
Limiting the number of pilgrims would be sensitive because the trip is one of the five pillars of Islam – it is a religious duty for able-bodied Muslims to make the journey at least once.
Numbers were once limited by the duration and difficulty of a trip to Mecca, but rises in income and cheaper air travel has put the trip within reach of many more Muslims worldwide.
Its huge crowds have long given Mina a grim reputation as one of the most dangerous parts of the pilgrimage. All pilgrims on the hajj must file through on a single day to participate in a symbolic stoning of the devil.
Thousands of people have died in stampedes and fires on its cramped streets in recent decades, but after more than 300 people died in a stampede in 2006, Saudi Arabia stepped up investment in safety.
They spent millions on improvements, including expanding the “bridge” where pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls in a symbolic stoning of the devil into a multi-storey building with entrance and exit ramps.
Helicopters and surveillance cameras monitor crowd movements, and a strict assigned schedule aims to control when pilgrims filter through the most crowded areas.
For nearly a decade there were no major accidents, but local activists said disorganisation and corruption meant a breakdown of the system was inevitable.
“We are not that much surprised at the accident. We are expecting worse every time,” said one Mecca-based Saudi activist, who asked not to be named because of fears the authorities would punish political dissent.
He pointed out that in 20 years of rapid expansion and development around Mecca authorities built only one new hospital to serve pilgrims, and had not installed a single fire extinguisher in the city’s Grand Mosque.
“Maybe it is not normal in other countries, but on account of the corruption that’s going on here in our country anything can easily make a disaster for us. We should expect worse and worse.”
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