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world NEWSFriday 25 September 2015
Over 700 killed in crush of hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia
AYA BATRAWY and security at Islam’s holy “What happened was In this image posted on the official Twitter account of the
Associated Press cities of Mecca and Me- more than they were directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense agency, a pilgrim is
MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) dina for the annual event. treated by a medic after a stampede that killed over 700 and
— Two giant waves of Mus- Saudi authorities began injured countless pilgrims in the holy city of Mina during the
lim pilgrims collided at an an investigation, said In- annual hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015.
intersection Thursday near terior Ministry spokesman (Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense agency via AP)
a holy site in Saudi Ara- Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki,
bia, and more than 700 adding that initial reports
people were crushed and showed two crowds com-
trampled to death in the ing from opposing direc-
worst disaster at the hajj in tions converged at an in-
a quarter-century. tersection in Mina, on the
“People were climbing outskirts of Mecca, when
over one another just to the pushing and shoving
breathe,” said Abdullah started.
Lotfy of Egypt. “It was like a “Unfortunately, these in-
wave. You go forward and cidents happen in a mo-
suddenly you go back.” ment,” al-Turki said at a
The hajj, which drew 2 mil- news conference.
lion people from over 180 But four survivors ques-
countries this year, is a tioned how officials man-
huge logistical challenge aging the flow of peo-
for Saudi Arabia. The king- ple could allow two big
dom has spent billions of crowds going in different
dollars to accommodate directions to intersect on
the growing number of pil- two streets packed with
grims and maintain safety pilgrims.
ready for,” Lotfy, 44, told 56-year-old father were
The Associated Press. separated when people
As of late Thursday, the began pushing and shov-
Saudi civil defense direc- ing. Awad said he tried to
torate said the death toll get out of the crush of bod-
was 719, but that prob- ies for about 30 minutes
ably would rise as bodies and eventually climbed
continued to be counted over a gate with others. It
and sent to the morgue. At took him an hour before
least 863 people were in- he could look for his father,
jured, the directorate said. who was under at least 10
An AP journalist saw bod- bodies — but still alive.
ies still lying on the ground “You can’t count how
more than 10 hours after many bodies there were.
the crush and ensuing They were stacked high,”
stampede in Mina, a large Awad said.
valley containing 160,000 Amateur video on social
tents for accommodations media showed scores of
about 5 kilometers (3 miles) bodies — many still dressed
from Mecca. in the simple terry cloth gar-
One crowd had just fin- ments worn during hajj —
ished a ritual in which pil- lying amid crushed wheel-
grims throw pebbles at chairs and water bottles
three stone columns rep- on a sunbaked street.
resenting the devil when Helicopters circled Mina
it ran into another wave throughout the day, fer-
of people heading to per- rying the injured to hospi-
form the rite. tals, while military police
Sudanese pilgrim Moham- blocked the streets where
med Awad, 36, and his the deaths took place.q
