More than 700 killed in Hajj pilgrimage stampede near Mecca

A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, has killed more than 700 people and injured 800 others in Saudi Arabia. The stampede occurred yesterday morning during the ritual known as ‘stoning the devil’ in the tent city of Mina near Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. Footage taken just after the stampede showed bodies piled upon bodies, a few moving, but most appearing lifeless. Workers in hard hats and reflective vests can be seen working the edges of the pile of faithful, pulling dead bodies away to get to those who are still alive. Ethar El-Katatney, a pilgrim who was near the stampede site about five hours after the surge happened, said she walked past ambulances that were carrying bodies of victims. Pilgrims arrive to pray at Mount Arafat, near Mecca in Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. (Photograph: Amel Pain/EPA) Hundreds have been killed in past years during the same ceremony, and it comes only 13 days after a crane collapse killed more than 100 people at another major Islamic holy site, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The incident is the deadliest disaster at Mina since 1990, when 1,426 people died. By press time, officials had said 717 were killed, but the numbers have been rising steadily. Officials deployed 4,000 workers along with 220 ambulances to Mina in response to the disaster. In the ritual, crowds of pilgrims throw stones at three pillars in a re-enactment of when the Prophet Abraham stoned the devil and rejected his temptations, according to Muslim traditions. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz held an emergency meeting to discuss the stampede, according to the Saudi Press Agency. He ordered an inquiry. In the stampede, pilgrims were walking toward the largest of the pillars when there was a sudden surge in the crowd, causing many people to fall, the Saudi Press Agency said, citing civil defence officials. Information on what led to the surge wasn’t immediately available. People gather around the victims of the stampede in Mina. (Photograph: AP) A risky pilgrimage The ceremony was the scene of stampedes and hundreds of deaths in the 1980s and 1990s as pilgrims passed a crowded bottleneck area leading to the small pillars on the ground. In 2006, a stampede in Mina killed at least 363 people. After that, the Saudi government erected three massive pillars and completed a $1.2 billion, five-story bridge nearby where pilgrims can toss stones. It was meant to be a roomier atmosphere and a more efficient way to accommodate the faithful. On September 11, just days before this year’s Hajj started, a construction crane crashed through the roof of another eminent Hajj destination, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing 107 people. At least 238 others suffered injuries when a powerful storm toppled the crane. Losing one’s life during the Hajj season is considered by many devout Muslims as an entry to heaven. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Mina make their way to perform a ritual called Jamarat, the last rite of the annual hajj. (Photograph: Mosaab Elshamy/AP) A spiritual climax More than two million Muslims from around the world are attending the annual Hajj pilgrimage this year. Known as the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj is an obligation upon every Muslim who has the financial means and the physical ability to perform it. For most, it is the spiritual climax of their lives, with many saving for decades to make the journey. The pilgrimage, conducted over five days, includes detailed rituals such as wearing a special white garment that symbolises human equality and unity before God; a circular procession around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, surrounded by Mecca’s Grand Mosque; and the symbolic stoning. The ritual The stoning ritual is done over at least two days, where pilgrims stone the three pillars at Mina -- believed to be where the devil was stoned when he tried to dissuade Abraham from obeying God’s orders to slaughter his son. According to tradition, the event was a test from God, who gave Abraham a ram to slaughter instead. Thursday was the third day of the Hajj.

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More than 700 killed in Hajj pilgrimage stampede near Mecca