Saudi Arabia: At Least 717 Dead in Crush Near Mecca

zackewasher · #1 ● 09-24-2015, 05:33 AM

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24/09/15 - A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season has killed at least 717 people and left 863 others wounded.

The stampede occurred during the ritual known as "stoning the devil" in the tent city of Mina, about two miles from Mecca.

Hundreds have been killed in past years during the same ceremony.

Officials deployed 4,000 workers and 220 ambulances and other vehicles to Mina to help with the disaster.

In the ritual, crowds of pilgrims throw stones at three pillars, in a re-enactment of an event when Prophet Abraham stoned the devil and rejected his temptations, according to Muslim traditions.

Panic and chaos in queue :

**kellyhound** · #2 ● 09-24-2015, 05:45 AM

Well after all it's Feast of Sacrifice today

Oswald2001 · #3 ● 09-24-2015, 08:14 AM

There really has never been a more fitting target for a Tactical Nuke.

Londonlegacy · #4 ● 09-24-2015, 09:11 AM

Allahu Albar? Don't make me laugh!

Pink. · #5 ● 09-24-2015, 09:24 AM

The death toll from Thursday's stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has risen to 717 and the number of injured has reached 805, state-run Al-Ekbariyah TV reported, citing Saudi civil defense officials.
[Previous story, published at 7:54 a.m. ET]
A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season -- the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca -- has killed more than 450 people and injured 719 others in Saudi Arabia.
The stampede occurred Thursday morning during the ritual known as "stoning the devil" in the tent city of Mina, about 2 miles from Mecca, Islam's holiest city.
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.
Deadly stampede at Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca

Deadly stampede at Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca 02:55
"We have a stampede accident in Mina, and civil defense is dealing with it," said Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
Civil defense authorities said the latest death toll is 453, but the numbers have been climbing steadily. Officials deployed 4,000 workers, along with 220 ambulances and other vehicles, to Mina to help deal with 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.
In Thursday's stampede, pilgrims were walking toward the largest of the pillars when there was a sudden surge in the crowd about 9 a.m., causing a large number of people to fall, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing civil defense officials.
Information on what led to the surge wasn't immediately available.