Saudi Arabia Under Fire after Hajj Stampede
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Blame shifted towards Saudi authorities after a stampede at the Hajj killed hundreds of people, in the worst tragedy to strike the annual Muslim pilgrimage in a quarter-century.
The disaster, which also left several hundred people injured, was the second deadly accident to hit worshippers this month, after a crane collapse in the holy city of Mecca killed more than 100.
At the scene, bodies lay in piles, surrounded by discarded personal belongings and flattened water bottles, while rescue workers laid corpses in long rows on stretchers, limbs protruding from beneath white sheets, AFP reported on Friday.
According to media reports, at least 1300 pilgrims were killed Thursday in the stampede outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
Dark-skinned and light-skinned, they died with arms draped around each other. "There was no room to manoeuvre," said Aminu Abubakar, a Nigerian pilgrim who escaped the crush of bodies because he was at the head of the procession. Fellow pilgrims told him of children dying despite parents' efforts to save them near the sprawling tent city where they stay."
"They threw them on rooftops, mostly tent-tops... Most of them couldn't make it."
The stampede broke out in Mina, about five kilometres (three miles) from Mecca, during the stoning of the devil ritual. The Saudi civil defense service said it was still counting the dead, who included pilgrims from different countries.
Iran said 131 of its nationals were among the victims, and condemned Saudi Arabia for safety errors.
Islamabad said seven Pakistanis were killed. Pilgrims at the scene blamed the Saudi authorities.
