Deadly stampede in Mecca
2006-01-12 14:51
Mecca - Muslim pilgrims stampeded on the last day of a symbolic stoning ritual at the haj on Thursday, and the Interior Ministry said an unknown number of people were killed. The Arab television news station Al-Arabiya reported dozens of pilgrims died.
The stampede broke out as tens of thousands of pilgrims filed past al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin. The ritual has seen deadly stampedes in the past, including one in 1990 that killed 1 426 people and another in February 2004 that killed 244.
Major General Mansour al-Turki, a ministry spokesperson, said the stampede happened after some pieces of luggage dropped from moving buses. The pilgrims apparently tripped over them as they were rushing to the pillars, he said.
Al-Turki said there were deaths but could not immediately give an exact number.
The pillars are located on a large pedestrian bridge, the width of an eight-lane highway over the desert plain of Mina outside the holy city of Mecca.
A number of ramps lead up the bridge to give pilgrims access to the site, and the stampede occured at the base of one of the ramps.
The stampede took place despite Saudi efforts to improve traffic for the massive crowds of pilgrims at the site, where all 2.5 million pilgrims participating in the annual haj must pass, move from pillar to pillar to throw their stones, then exit.
- AP