Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Haroon Siddique

Mecca: hajj crush kills hundreds near holy city – as it happened

Video of the aftermath of the stampede in Mina

Summary

  • The Saudi authorities say that 717 people have been killed and 850 injured in a crush during the annual hajj pilgrimage.
  • Pilgrims from several different countries are reported to have died- no surprise given that foreigners make up around three-quarters of the 2million pilgrims on this year’s hajj.
  • King Salman has ordered a probe into the cause of the stampede. Officials have been variously quoted blaming undisciplined and fatigued pilgrims, with one allegedly blaming “some pilgrims from African nationalities”.
  • Iran said 89 of its citizens died in the stampede. It accused its bitter rival of safety errors in connection with the tragedy.
  • More than 220 ambulances and 4,000 rescue workers have been sent to the location of the tragedy.
  • The crush appears to have taken on a road between pilgrim camps.It happened on the first day of the Eid al-Adha festival, which marks the end of the hajj. Pilgrims travel toMina just outside Mecca throw pebbles at one of three walls representing Satan, in a symbolic “stoning of the devil”.
  • The White House and UK prime minister David Cameron were among those who sent their condolences to those affected.
  • Stampedes during the hajj have been a common occurrences in the past, although this is the first to lead to a major loss of life since 2006 and the worst since 1990. The Saudi authorities have made efforts to improve safety in recent years.
  • The tragedy is the second to hit the kingdom in a fortnight, afterthe collapse of a construction crane at Mecca’s Grand Mosque killed more than 100 people, days before the hajj pilgrimage began.

Here are a couple of eyewitness accounts submitted through GuardianWitness:

Bashaar Jamil from London

“I was there in the morning after the prayers. There were thousands of people going in via the entry tunnel and people coming out from the exit tunnel. Until we reached the stone throwing area, it was congested but after that it was fine.

The exit then got cramped as people were trying to leave as quickly as possible. I was with my mum and luckily we got out literally 20 to 30 mins before the stampede started. Apparently, the exit tunnel was closed by the authorities and people were using one tunnel to go in and come out.

Makes no sense as you have huge crowd going in and going out with no traffic control system. Saudi authorities may have spent on expansion but certainly not on safety. There is no disabled toilet, access for elderly, emergency escape for the poorly; these all are basic requirements which I believe the government has failed to achieve.”

Sharek Kader from Bangladesh, said this is his first time at the hajj and he was there with five other people:

“I was there after sunrise but decided to throw the stones from the 3rd level instead of the first as most of the people were rushing towards level one. It’s tragic, but the authorities cannot do much as people tend to move with the flow. Its very easy to blame the Saudis, however, better pre hajj training should be made mandatory before giving visas to someone of the countries.

He adds that “despite the tragedy the Kaaba is totally packed with hajis”.

Al-Aribya is reporting some highly inflammatory comments allegedly made by a member of the central hajj committee:

From al-Jazeera:

The head of Central Hajj Committee Prince Khaled al-Faisal blamed the stampede on “some pilgrims from African nationalities”, according to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya Channel

Updated

AP has some more details the Saudi interior ministry suggesting pilgrims are to blame rather than the authorities:

Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said high temperatures and the fatigue of the pilgrims might also have been factors in Thursday’s disaster, the deadliest event to afflict the hajj pilgrimage in more than two decades.

He says there is no indication that authorities are to blame for the event, saying “unfortunately, these incidents happen in a moment.”

Al-Turki says King Salman has ordered the creation of committee to investigate the incident.

The Saudi interior ministry says the death toll may rise further, al-Arabiya is reporting.

The number of Iranian victims has risen to 89, more than 10% of the total.

Eman al-Nafjan, who blogs under the name Saudiwoman, has been tweeting reasons given by Saudi authorities for past deaths in stampedes during the hajj.

A lot of the reasons given in the past seem to bear a similarity to those given for today’s tragedy health minister Khaled al-Falih who suggested undisciplined pilgrims were to blame. Some of the tweets are below. At the least, they raise questions about whether enough has been done to tackle the causes of such stampedes.

Updated

Ap has spoken to two survivors of the crash:

“I saw someone trip over someone in a wheelchair and several people tripping over him. People were climbing over one another just to breathe,” said one of the survivors, Abdullah Lotfy, 44, from Egypt. “It was like a wave. You go forward and suddenly you go back.”

Lotfy said that having two flows of pilgrims interacting in this way should never have happened. “There was no preparation. What happened was more than they were ready for,” he said of the Saudi authorities ...

Another survivor, Ismail Hamba, 58, from Nigeria, recalled falling down and then being trampled over by marching pilgrims.

“It was terrible, it was really, really terrible,” he said.

Another pilgrim criticised the organisation of this year’s hajj to AFP:

A Sudanese pilgrim in Mina said this year’s hajj was the most poorly organised of four he had attended.

“People were already dehydrated and fainting” before the stampede, said the pilgrim who declined to be named.

People “were tripping all over each other”, he said, adding that a Saudi companion had warned him that “something was going to happen”.

The bodies of Muslim pilgrims after a stampede at Mina, outside the holy Muslim city of Mecca, on 24 September, 2015.
The bodies of Muslim pilgrims after a stampede at Mina, outside the holy Muslim city of Mecca, on 24 September, 2015. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters

Saudi site al-Arabiya has details of a press conference given today by a Saudi interior ministry spokesman, in which he said that the crush was caused by convergence of pilgrims coming from two different streets:

Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki told reporters that the incident took place when two pathways converged at the the same time. The majority of Thursday’s victims, according to al-Turki, descended onto a pathway toward Jamarat during a time that was not allocated to them.

When asked why authorities could not expand the areas of the camp city of Mina and Mashar to accommodate the huge numbers of pilgrims, al-Turki said: “As per the boundaries of of Mashar and Mina areas, we cannot possibly expand the locations as both Mashar and Mina have set boundaries that are dictated by Islamic principles for Hajj proceedings.”

Al-Aarabiya also reports that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef has ordered an inquiry “into finding why procedures and protocols were not followed at the time of the stampede”.

Britain’s chief rabbi has said his prayers are with those affected:

The Church of England has offered up prayers for those who have been caught up in the hajj tragedy, PA reports. It is for those who have died, are working to save life and for those who are worried for people they love.

Al Jazeera journalist Basma Atassi reports that the streets between camps in Mina remain very crowded.

It is still not known if any of the dead are British but the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has said it is in contact with the local authorities. It is estimated that around 25,000 British nationals head overseas from the UK to Saudi Arabia for the hajj, according to Abta, the travel association.


Rashid Mogradia, of the Council of British Hajjis, a national organisation which looks after the welfare of pilgrims who are going to Mecca, told BBC News:

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected.

It is tragic news. On the one hand we have Muslims all around the world and here in the UK celebrating Eid while we have this tragic incident unfolding before us in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

We have been in contact with a number of tour operators who have taken around 20,000 British pilgrims out for the hajj making up that figure of two million pilgrims.

We are seeing on a hourly basis and now minute-by-minute the numbers are increasing and we hope that will be the end of what we hear.

There is a lot that has been done as far as infrastructure has been concerned, however we need to understand what has gone on today and how it can be improved so that further casualties and further incidents do not take place.

Britons who are facing an anxious wait to hear of their loves ones have been tweeting their concerns.

Updated

A Saudi activist opposed to the Mecca development project, has blamed corruption for the failure to prevent such accidents recurring. The activist said:

We are not that much surprised at the accident. We are expecting worse every time. Since this disaster has happened before, so we all expecting that it’s normal to have such a disaster. 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.

Other countries don’t have such a budget every year that we do. Unfortunately, with a country which has the richest income, and comparing to the number of people who are living in this country, unfortunately we don’t have the plans, the strategy to manage this. The problem is the corruption in using the resources of the country for building things in the right form.

Unfortunately the government are pointing the finger against the lower levels, saying for example ‘Where are the ambulances, where are the health care workers to manage the people who are injured?’ They try to escape from the real reason of such disaster.

Hajj pilgrims and Saudi emergency personnel stand near bodies at the site where at least 450 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca.
Hajj pilgrims and Saudi emergency personnel stand near bodies at the site where at least 450 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca. Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Saudi health minister blames undisciplined pilgrims

Saudi health minister Khaled al-Falih has blamed undisciplined pilgrims for the tragedy, saying it could have been avoided if they had “followed instructions”.

The number of injured has risen to 863, according to Saudi civil defence.

Summary

  • The Saudi authorities say that 717 people have been killed and 850 injured in a crush during the annual hajj pilgrimage.
  • Pilgrims from several different countries are reported to have died - no surprise given that foreigners make up around three-quarters of the 2million pilgrims on this year’s hajj.
  • Iran said 43 of its citizens died in the stampede. It accused its bitter rival of safety errors in connection with the tragedy.
  • More than 220 ambulances and 4,000 rescue workers have been sent to the location of the tragedy.
  • The crush appears to have taken on a road between pilgrim camps. It happened on the first day of the Eid al-Adha festival, which marks the end of the hajj. Pilgrims travel toMina just outside Mecca throw pebbles at one of three walls representing Satan, in a symbolic “stoning of the devil”.
  • Stampedes during the hajj have been a common occurrences in the past, although this is the first to lead to a major loss of life since 2006 and the worst since 1990. The Saudi authorities have made efforts to improve safety in recent years.
  • The tragedy is the second to hit the kingdom in a fortnight, after the collapse of a construction crane at Mecca’s Grand Mosque killed more than 100 people, days before the hajj pilgrimage began.

Death toll rises to 717

The death toll has risen to 717 dead and 805 injured, Saudi authorities say.

The crush took place on Street 204, a road between pilgrim camps, and not at the site of the stoning the devil ritual, according to an al-Jazeera journalist who has been reporting from Mina.

The death toll is now the highest during the pilgrimage since 1990, when, in the worst hajj-related tragedy, 1,426 people died in a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.

Here are pictures from the hospital in Mina:

Iran now says that 43 of its citizens have died in the crush:

Iran said at least 15 of its citizens have died in Mina and has accused its bitter enemy, Saudi Arabia, of safety errors in connection with the tragedy, AFP reports.

The head of Iran’s hajj organisation, Said Ohadi, said that for “unknown reasons” two paths had been closed off near the scene of the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual where the accident later took place.

“This caused this tragic incident,” he said on Iranian state television, giving the death toll, indicating that fatalities and casualties could rise.

Ohadi said the path closures had left only three routes to the area where the stoning ceremony was held.

“Today’s incident shows mismanagement and lack of serious attention to the safety of pilgrims. There is no other explanation. The Saudi officials should be held accountable.”

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Saudi Arabia’s envoy would be summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran over the incident.

“We can in no way be indifferent to this irresponsible behaviour of Saudi Arabia. This will be dealt with through diplomatic channels,” he said on state television.

He also accused Saudi officials of “tactlessness” over the lack of safety measures at the hajj and said Iran had set up a special headquarters at the accident site to support Iranian pilgrims.

“Saudi Arabian officials are responsible for this incident and they should immediately endeavour to take effective measures for managing the existing crisis and providing full security for pilgrims,” he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

To put the comments in context, Iran and Saudi Arabia have been fighting proxy wars in a number of countries, including Syria and Yemen.

If you’re taking part in the hajj pilgrimage and have been affected by Thursday’s events near Mecca, you can share your stories and eyewitness accounts direct with our journalists by using GuardianWitness - just click on the blue ‘Contribute’ buttons here or via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44 (0) 7867 825056

Business secretary Sajid Javid, the most senior Muslim in the UK government, has added his condolences to those affected by the Mina tragedy:

Updated

Death toll rises to 453

The death toll has sadly continued to rise. The latest from Saudi civil defence is 453 killed and 719 injured

Updated

Reuters has some details of the measures taken by the Saudi authorities to try to avoid a repeat of past tragedies:

Efforts to improve safety at Jamarat have included enlarging the three pillars and constructing a triple-decker bridge around them to increase the area and number of entry and exit points for pilgrims to perform the ritual.

More than 100,000 police and thousands of video cameras are also deployed to allow groups to be dispersed before they reach dangerous levels of density.

“Please pilgrims do not push one another. Please leave from the exit and don’t come back by the same route,” an officer kept repeating through a loudspeaker at Jamarat.

Muslim pilgrims gather around the victims of a stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, 24 September, 2015.
Muslim pilgrims gather around the victims of a stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, 24 September, 2015. Photograph: AP

More than 220 ambulances and 4,000 rescue workers have been sent to the location of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, pilgrims continue to arrive in Mina for the stone-throwing ritual.

Number of injured rises to 631

The number of injured has risen to 631, according to Saudi civil defence.

Below is a map created by my colleague Paddy Allen showing the location of the crush:

Mina map

Updated

Saudi Red Crescent says that air ambulances are helping to ferry people from hospitals in Mina and directly from the scene of the crush. The temperature is reportedly 40 degrees C plus, hence people holding umbrellas in a number of the pictures.

David Cameron has expressed his sympathy for those affected by the tragedy:

Updated

AJ+ reporter Ethar El-Katatney is on hajj and has been tweeting and periscoping from Mina.

AFP has more details of the stoning the devil ritual, during which the stampede occurred.

Thursday’s ritual was taking place at a five-storey structure known as the Jamarat Bridge, which cost more than $1 billion (£0.66 billion) to build, and which was used during earlier pilgrimages.

Almost one kilometre (less than a mile) long, it resembles a parking garage and allows 300,000 pilgrims an hour to carry out the ritual.

The faithful had gathered until dawn Thursday at nearby Muzdalifah where they chose their pebbles and stored them in empty water bottles.

They had spent a day of prayer Wednesday on a vast Saudi plain and Mount Arafat, a rocky hill about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Mina, for the peak of the hajj pilgrimage.

It was not immediately clear if the stoning ritual at Mina would continue as planned until Saturday after the stampede.

The ritual emulates the Prophet Abraham, who is said to have stoned the devil at three locations when he tried to dissuade Abraham from God’s order to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

At the last moment, God spares the boy, sending a sheep to be sacrificed in his place.

The world’s Muslims commemorated Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son by slaughtering cows, sheep and other animals on Thursday.

Rescuers attend to people injured in the stampede during the hajj.
Rescuers attend to people injured in the stampede during the hajj. Pictures from the official account of the Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense. Photograph: Saudi Civil Defense

The Saudi press agency said today that the the total number of pilgrims for this year’s hajj was 1.95m, which included 1.38m foreigners.

Approximately 25,000 UK nationals travel to Saudi Arabia for the hajj, according to the Britihs Hajji Delegation, which provides on the ground medical support to British citizens during the pilgrimage.

A spokesman for the UK foreign office said:

We are in contact with local authorities and urgently seeking more information following reports of a crush during the hajj pilgrimage at Mecca.

Death toll rises to 310

The death toll continues to rise. It now stands at 310, according to Saudi civil defence. Unsurprisingly, given that pilgrims gather from all over the world, it says several nationalities are among the dead.

More unverified video footage purporting to be from Mina shows rows of covered up bodies lying on the ground.

Updated

AP has posted a list of accidents and tragedies which have marred previous hajj pilgrimages. It does not include the collapse of a crane in Mecca earlier this month, which killed more than 100, because that occurred days before the hajj began. The list shows that major loss of life during the pilgrimage had not occurred for some time.

2015: At least 150 people are killed and 400 injured in a stampede in Mina, on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca. In the lead-up to hajj, at least 107 people are killed and scores wounded when a crane collapses in bad weather, crashing onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site.
___
2006: More than 360 pilgrims are killed in a stampede at the desert plain of Mina, near Mecca, where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls. The day before the hajj began, an eight-story building being used as a hostel near the Grand Mosque in Mecca collapsed, killing at least 73 people.
___
2004: A crush of pilgrims at Mina kills 244 pilgrims and injures hundreds on the final day of the hajj ceremonies.
___
2001: A stampede at Mina during the final day of the pilgrimage ceremonies kills 35 hajj pilgrims.
___
1998: About 180 pilgrims are trampled to death in panic after several of them fell off an overpass during the final stoning ritual at Mina.
___
1997: At least 340 pilgrims are killed in a fire at the tent city of Mina as the blaze was aided by high winds. More than 1,500 were injured.
___
1994: Some 270 pilgrims are killed in a stampede during the stoning ritual at Mina.
___
1990: The worst hajj-related tragedy claims the lives of 1,426 pilgrims in a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.

Pilgrims had converged on Mina just outside Mecca on Thursday to throw pebbles at one of three walls representing Satan, the symbolic “stoning of the devil” that is part of the hajj.

In January 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede during the ritual.

The hajj is among the five pillars of Islam and every capable Muslim must perform it at least once in a lifetime.

Unverified video footage of the aftermath of the crush has emerged. Clothes can be seen strewn on the ground. WARNING: Contains upsetting images.

Updated

Death toll rises to 220

Saudi civil defence says the death toll has risen to 220, with at least 450 injured.

These are pictures it posted earlier:

Opening summary

A crush during the annual hajj pilgrimage has killed 150 people, Saudi civil defence authorities have said.

Another 400 were injured in the disaster, which occurred in Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, on the first day of the Eid al-Adha festival, which marks the end of hajj.

About two million people are performing the pilgrimage, Saudi state-run TV has said.

The tragedy is the second to hit the kingdom in a fortnight, after the collapse of a construction crane at Mecca’s Grand Mosque killed more than 100 people days before the hajj pilgrimage began.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Guy shoots rap concert using a GameBoy camera. Don't believe me? Read this…
A man has used a GameBoy camera to photograph a rap concert, using a 3D-printed rig to attach his phone to the console to video himself
Digital Camera World
Digital Camera World
How Long Would It Take a Millennial To Buy Archie Bunker’s House Today?
How in the world did Archie Bunker afford that house, and how long would it take a Millennial to buy it off of his heirs today? Forever. It's forever.
GOBankingRates
GOBankingRates
‘Honestly a PSA’: Woman forgets to pack underwear for a trip. Her ‘trick’ has people vowing to never drink hotel coffee again
A St. Louis woman posted a disgusting and unsanitary life hack that has people questioning every cup of coffee they have ever had in a hotel room. 
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Kelly Osbourne describes grief as a 'quiet weight' - seven months after dad Ozzy Osbourne's death
Kelly Osbourne has described grief as the "quiet weight you learn to carry" - seven months after her dad, Ozzy Osbourne, died.
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
If Bond 26 Is An Origin Story, I Have A Wild Idea For The Movie
There’s an oft-overlooked bit of Bond history that could work here.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Who is Adonis? American travel streamer detained after assault clash with Romanian local during viral Bucharest livestream
American streamer Adonis was detained in Bucharest after a livestream fight with a Romanian local who allegedly spat on him. The viral video shows a heated argument before punches were thrown. Police arrived at the scene, and the local was treated by medics. Adonis later posted a cryptic message on…
The Times of India
The Times of India
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play