MORE than 900 people have been killed while taking part in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
The BBC reports that more than 700 people were killed in a stampede yesterday, adding to the hundreds killed when a crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque last week.
The most recent incident occurred during this year’s Holy pilgrimage from Mecca to Mina, where pilgrims went to throw stones at pillars called Jamarat, which are said to represent the devil.
“The pillars stand at three spots where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham,” the BBC says.
According to Saudi officials, during the ceremonial stone throwing a stampede broke out causing ‘a sudden increase in the number of pilgrims heading towards the pillars’.
Reporting from Mina, a reporter, Tchima Illa Issoufou, recounted the carnage that unfolded, “People were going towards the direction of throwing the stones while others were coming from the opposite direction. Then it became chaotic and suddenly people started going down.”
“There were people from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Senegal among other nationalities. People were just climbing on top of others in order to move to a safer place and that’s how some people died,” read the report.
“People were chanting Allah’s name while others were crying, including children and infants. People fell on the ground seeking help but there was no-one to give them a helping hand. Everybody seemed to be on their own.”
Whilst another reporter, Yusuf Ibrahim Yakasai, reported that, “A witness who escaped the stampede said that what actually happened was that the Saudi security at the scene blocked one of the roads to the Jamarat (stoning the devil).”
“This happened as thousands of pilgrims from different countries like Iran, Cameroon, Ghana and Niger were going to the Jamarat. Therefore, as those who finished stoning the devil were coming back on the same route, they met those heading to the place.”
“There was a kind of collision between the two groups moving in opposite directions on the same road. Those in the middle were the most affected.”
Saudia Arabian officials have confirmed they will be launching an inquiry into the safety and structure of the event.
In addition to the 900 dead, more than 400 have been injured in the stampede.
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