Hundreds dead after stampede in Mecca
Bodies line the street in the site of the stampede that occurred on Thursday in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during the annual Haj ceremony. Over 700 were killed and 863 were injured in one of the worst stampedes at the holy site in over 25 years.- The civil defence authority said its teams on the ground are leading pilgrims to safer routes away from the stampede site through alternate routes.
- Such disasters are politically sensitive for the kingdom's ruling Al Saud dynasty, which presents itself internationally as the guardians of orthodox Islam and custodians of its holiest places in Mecca and Medina.
- The last major incident in haj took place in 2006, when at least 346 pilgrims were killed as they attempted to perform the stoning of the devil at Jamarat.
- In my camp there were about 400 pilgrims. All of them are safe, says Abid Rasool Khan, Chairman Minorities Panel, Andhra Pradesh.
- Two teams of medical screening have been set up at the site of the incident.
- Indian Haj mission doctors are deployed in all government hospitals in Mina and Mecca to ascertain if there were any Indian casualties.
- The Indian Consulate in Jeddah said there were no reports of any Indian being killed in the stampede so far. However, two Indians from Assam were injured and have been admitted to hospital.
- Photographs published on the civil defense Twitter feed showed pilgrims lying on stretchers while emergency workers in high-visibility jackets lifted them into an ambulance.
- The pilgrimage, the world's largest annual gathering of people, has been the scene of deadly disasters in the past, including stampedes, tent fires and riots.
- Eyewitnesses said the stampede happened at the entrance of the Jamarat bridge near Street 204, not inside of the area where the stoning pillars are.
- At least 14 Indian lives were lost in the stampede while 13 injured Indians were hospitalised.
- Muslim pilgrims and rescuers gather around people who were crushed by overcrowding in Mina.
- Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims make their way to cast stones at a pillar symbolizing the stoning of Satan in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual Haj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, in Mina.
- Ambulances in Mecca, after people were crushed by overcrowding in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual Haj pilgrimage.
- Even before Thursday's stoning tragedy, other pilgrims had complained of a lack of organisation. A sudden surge in the number of pilgrims heading to Jamarat for symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls resulted in
- Saudi security forces cordon the site where pilgrims were crushed and trampled to death during the annual Haj pilgrimage in Mina. One minister blamed the pilgrims for the tragedy, but worshippers disagreed, adding that the police at the site
Bodies line the street in the site of the stampede that occurred on Thursday in Mina, Saudi Arabia, during the annual Haj ceremony. Over 700 were killed and 863 were injured in one of the worst stampedes at the holy site in over 25 years.
Hundreds dead after stampede in Mecca
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