The death toll from a stampede during the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has risen to 453 people of various nationalities, the Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority said.
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The Saudi civil defence directorate said at least 450 other pilgrims were injured in the stampede.
Each year, the pilgrimage brings millions of people to Saudi Arabia on a five-day Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.
The Saudi Arabian interior ministry says the crush of Muslim pilgrims appears to have been caused by two waves of pilgrims meeting at an intersection. “I spoke to my father at around 5 pm and he told me that pilgrims from Mumbai had returned from Mina well before the stampede incident took place and were safe”. Stampedes in 1994, 2004 and 2006 each killed more than 200 pilgrims.
Preparations for the Hajj were marred when a crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque this month, killing 109 people.
Thursday’s tragedy was the latest stampede to mar the Hajj and surrounding events in recent years.
The Stoning of the Devil is a re-enactment of a story from the Quran involving the Prophet Ibrahim, which takes place during the hajj.
“My first reaction was to contact all my family with friends there”, said Zara Muazzam from Burlington, who found out about the stampede on her phone during the morning prayers. A man from Kerala identified as Mohammed from Kodungaloor in Thrissur district was among the pilgrims killed in the incident, Kerala’s Rural Development and Non Resident Keralite Affairs (NORKA) Minister K C Joseph said in Thiruvananthapuram.
It is reported that approximately 4,000 emergency personnel have responded to the tragedy at Mina, including the Red Cross.
The United States offered its condolences over the deaths in the “heartbreaking” stampede in Mina.
Some 2 million people are taking part in this year’s pilgrimage, which began on Tuesday.
One Indian national killed, at least 21 Indians injured.
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Russian Federation Today network reports the crush happened in Mecca’s neighborhood of Mina, which traditionally provides temporary accommodation for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.
