Up to 345 pilgrims die in Hajj stampede

THOUSANDS of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual during the Hajj tripped over luggage yesterday, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed.

Thhis was despite Saudi attempts to prevent stampedes that have plagued the annual event.

The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki said 345 people were killed. More than 1,000 people were injured, said Dr Abbasi with the Saudi Red Crescent.

Footage from the scene showed lines of bodies laid out on stretchers on the pavement and covered with sheets. Ahmed Mustafa, an Egyptian pilgrim, said he saw bodies taken away in refrigerator trucks.

An Egyptian pilgrim, Suad Abu Hamada, heard screaming and “saw people jumping over each other”.

The site is a notorious bottleneck for the massive crowds that attend the annual hajj pilgrimage and has seen deadly stampedes in the past, including one in 1990 that killed 1,426 people and another in February 2004 that killed 244. Seven of the past 17 yearly pilgrimages have seen deadly incidents at al-Jamarat.

The latest crush came despite Saudi attempts to ease the flow of traffic around al-Jamarat. This year’s Hajj was marred by the January 5 collapse of a building being used as a pilgrims’ hotel that killed 76 people in Mecca.

The stampede happened as pilgrims were rushing to complete the last of three days of the stoning ritual before sunset, said al-Turki. Some of the pilgrims began tripping over dropped baggage, causing a large pileup, he said.

Many pilgrims carry their personal effects with them as they move between the various stages of the Hajj.

Mina General Hospital, a small facility several hundred yards from the site, was filled with injured, and some victims were sent to hospitals in Mecca and Riyadh, said Ismail Abdul-Zaher, a doctor at the hospital.

Ambulances and police cars streamed into the area, and security forces tried to move pilgrims away from part of the site, though thousands continued with the ritual.

Saudi authorities had replaced the small round pillars with short walls to allow more people to throw their stones without jostling for position. The walls extend down through the bridge and protrude underneath, so pilgrims below can also carry out the stoning without going above.

Officials also recently widened the bridge, built extra ramps and increased the time pilgrims can carry out the rite - which on the second and final days traditionally takes place from midday until sunset.

Shi’ite Muslim clerics have issued religious edicts allowing pilgrims to start the ritual in the morning, and many Shi’ites from Iraq, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon and Pakistan took advantage to go early in the day.

But Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Muslim clerics, who follow the fundamentalist Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, encouraged pilgrims to stick to the midday rule.

About 60,000 Saudi troops have patrolled the Mina plain since the stoning ritual began Tuesday, intending to ensure a smooth flow of pilgrims. But often the police appeared overwhelmed, unable to manage the crowds - a task complicated by peddlers selling food and souvenirs to the pilgrims and jamming up traffic.