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Toll from Hajj stampede outside Mecca reaches 2,000: Sources

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161c454b-fe76-4afc-abc6-f2a96f1dbd18The death toll from a deadly crush during Hajj pilgrimage rituals in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, has soared to about 2,000, says the head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, citing Saudi sources.

“Based on the latest announcement by Saudi Arabia’s officials, the number of those who were killed in the Mina incident is around 2,000,” Saeed Ohadi said on Friday.

‘Prince’s convoy’

The incident occurred on Thursday, after huge pilgrim processions were joined in their course, leading to the catastrophic entanglement.

It has been reported that the convoy of Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, the son of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, had arrived at the site, forcing the pilgrims to change their original directions.

Ohadi added that imprudence, irresponsibility and mismanagement of Saudi authorities are the main factors behind the tragic incident in Mina. He said the Saudi army blocked access to all medical centers Thursday evening.

The Iranian official said four committees have been tasked to investigate the latest situation of the Iranian pilgrims wounded in the event.

He said two planes are ready to transfer the bodies of the killed Iranian pilgrims to their home country after legal procedures are completed, which could be September 28 or 29.

National mourning

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Thursday called on Saudi Arabia to shoulder the responsibility over the deadly incident in Mina, declaring three days of national mourning. At least 131 Iranian nationals are among those killed in the deadly stampede.

Source: presstv

More than 700 killed in Saudi Hajj stampede

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f5604116fb29f1_5604116fb2a13.thumbAt least 717 people have been killed in a stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence directorate said, as the death toll continued to rise.
The directorate said at least 863 other pilgrims were injured in Thursday’s stampede, which took place in Mina, on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca, Aljazeera reports.

The injured have been evacuated to four different hospitals in the Mina region, according to a civil defence spokesman.

Mina is where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls. It also houses more than 160,000 tents where pilgrims spend the night during the pilgrimage.

Al Jazeera’s Basma Atassi, reporting from Mina, said the incident took place in a street between pilgrim camps.

“The street where it happened is named Street 204. This stampede did not happen at the site of the ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual, which was happening today.

“During and after the stampede the pilgrims continued to flock into Mina to perform the devil stoning ritual.”

Amateur video shared on social media showed a horrific scene, with scores of bodies – the men dressed in the simple terry cloth garments worn during Hajj – lying alongside crushed wheelchairs and water bottles.

The head of the Central Hajj Committee, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, blamed the stampede on “some pilgrims from African nationalities,” Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV channel reported.

Iranian authorities have said that at least 43 Iranian nationals were killed in the stampede.
Survivors assessed the scene by standing on the top of roadside stalls as rescue workers in orange and yellow vests combed the area.

About 4,000 people from the rescue services were participating in the operation to help the injured and about 220 ambulances were directed to the scene, a civil defence spokesman said.