Hajj Tragedy: Nigerian pilgrims, others from Africa "responsible for" deadly stampede, top Saudi official claims
At least 717 people have been killed, and about 863 were injured, in a stampede outside Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The tragedy occurred as millions were attending the annual Muslim Hajj (pilgrimage), on Thursday.
The head of Central Hajj Committee Prince Khaled al-Faisal blamed the stampede on “some pilgrims from African nationalities,” so reports Saudi-owned al-Arabiya Channel.
A BBC Hausa correspondent in the area said concerning the Africans who “cause” the disaster”
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.
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.
Hundreds of fatalities and injuries have been reported, according to Saudi civil defense authorities.
Some 4,000 rescue workers and more than 200 ambulances are involved in the emergency operations, officials said.
There are no early indications what set off the stampede, which occurred on the outskirts of the Muslim holy city of Mina, about five kilometers (three miles) east of Mecca.
But the authorities have reportedly cast the entire blame on African pilgrims.
Thursday’s incident is the worst disaster to strike the annual pilgrimage in 25 years.
In July 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in a tunnel near Mecca. Both stampedes occurred on Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), Islam’s most important feast and the day of the stoning ritual.
The stampede comes less than two weeks after a large construction crane toppled and crashed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing at least 111 people and injuring 394 others.
