Four Chinese pilgrims among 345 dead in Hajj stampede (AP/chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2006-01-13 06:39 The Interior Ministry put the death toll at 345, and the Health Ministry said
289 people were injured. State-run Al-Ekhbariyah television said most of the
victims were from South Asia.
After the 2004 stampede, Saudi officials widened ramps leading to a platform
the width of an eight-lane highway where the three pillars are located and
created more emergency exits to accommodate the crowds.
Each of the small, round pillars also were replaced with 85-foot-long walls
to allow more people to stone them at once without jostling each other. The
walls were extended through the bottom of the platform so more pilgrims can
carry out the stoning from below.
Thursday's stampede occurred below the platform, near one of the four big
ramps. In theory, the crowds are supposed to enter the platform using two of the
ramps and exit down the other two, but pilgrims often ignore the rules.
Thousands of pilgrims were rushing to complete the last of the three days of
the stoning ritual before sunset when some of them began to trip over dropped
baggage, causing a large pileup, said Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, spokesman for
the Interior Ministry.
Many pilgrims carry personal belongings — tents, clothes and bags of food —
as they move between the various stages of the hajj.
"This was fate destined by God," al-Turki said. "Some of the pilgrims were
undisciplined and hasty to finish the ritual as soon as possible."
Mina General Hospital, a small facility near the al-Jamarat site, was filled
with injured, and some victims had to be sent to hospitals in Mecca and Riyadh,
Dr. Ismail Abdul-Zaher said.
Many pilgrims expressed frustration over the repeated disasters at
al-Jamarat.
"This should not happen every year. It should be stopped, it's a scandal.
There must be a way to organize this better," said Anwar Sadiqi, a pilgrim from
Pakistan.
Ensuring a smooth pilgrimage is a key concern for Saudi Arabia's royal
family, which bolsters its legitimacy by touting its role as the "custodian of
the holy cities" of Mecca and Medina, where Islam's 7th century prophet Muhammad
was born and lived.
Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz told reporters the kingdom had "spared no
effort" to avoid such disasters but, he added, "it cannot stop what God has
preordained. It is impossible."
"We feel pain and sorrow for them and for their families and we send our
condolences," the prince said on Al-Ekhbariya television.
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