MUSLIM PILGRIMS DIE
Atleast 717 pilgrims from around the the world were killed on thursday in a crush outside the muslimm holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual hjaj pilgrimage in 25 years.
Atleast the 863 others were injured at Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together to a crossroads on their way to performing the “ stoning of the devil” ritual at Jamarat, Saudi civil defence said.
Thursdays disaster was the the worst to occur at the pilgrimage since July 1990,
When 1,426 pilgrims suffocated in Eid al~ Adha (feast of the sucrifice), islams most important feast and the day of the stoning ritual.
Photographs published on the Twitterfeed ao Saudi civil defenceon thursday showed pilgrims lying on strechers while emergency workers in highly~visibility jackets lifted them into an ambulance. Other images showed bodies of men in white haj garments piled on top of each other, some corpse bore visible injuries. Unverified video posted on Twitter showed pilgrims and rescue workers trying to revive some victims.
The haj, the worlds largest annual gathering of people, has been the cene of numerous deadly stampedes ,fires and riots in the past, but their frequency has been greatly reduced in recent years as the government spent billions of dollars upgrading and expanding haj infrastructure and crowd control technology.
Safety during haj is a politically sensitive issue for the kingdoms rulling Al Saud dynasty, which presents itself internationally as the guardian of orthodox islam and custodian of its holiest places in Mecca and Medinma.
Saudi Arabias Crown Prince and interior Ministe Prince Muhammed bin Nayef bim Abdelaziz ordered a committee to be formed to in the investigating of the disaster and present its findings to King Salman, the interior Ministry said.
The ministry spokesperson, Mansour Turki said the investigation would look into what caused an unusual density 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.
Atleast the 863 others were injured at Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together to a crossroads on their way to performing the “ stoning of the devil” ritual at Jamarat, Saudi civil defence said.
Thursdays disaster was the the worst to occur at the pilgrimage since July 1990,
When 1,426 pilgrims suffocated in Eid al~ Adha (feast of the sucrifice), islams most important feast and the day of the stoning ritual.
Photographs published on the Twitterfeed ao Saudi civil defenceon thursday showed pilgrims lying on strechers while emergency workers in highly~visibility jackets lifted them into an ambulance. Other images showed bodies of men in white haj garments piled on top of each other, some corpse bore visible injuries. Unverified video posted on Twitter showed pilgrims and rescue workers trying to revive some victims.
The haj, the worlds largest annual gathering of people, has been the cene of numerous deadly stampedes ,fires and riots in the past, but their frequency has been greatly reduced in recent years as the government spent billions of dollars upgrading and expanding haj infrastructure and crowd control technology.
Safety during haj is a politically sensitive issue for the kingdoms rulling Al Saud dynasty, which presents itself internationally as the guardian of orthodox islam and custodian of its holiest places in Mecca and Medinma.
Saudi Arabias Crown Prince and interior Ministe Prince Muhammed bin Nayef bim Abdelaziz ordered a committee to be formed to in the investigating of the disaster and present its findings to King Salman, the interior Ministry said.
The ministry spokesperson, Mansour Turki said the investigation would look into what caused an unusual density 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.