Rescue operations are under way after the stampede near Mecca, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were taking part in the last major rite of the hajj.
The crush happened on Street 204 of the camp city at Mina, a few kilometres east of Mecca, where pilgrims stay for several days during the climax of the hajj.
Today is also Eid al-Adha, when Muslims slaughter a sheep and has traditionally been the most dangerous day of hajj because vast numbers of pilgrims attempt to perform rituals at the same time in a single location.
Street 204 is one of the two main arteries leading through the camp at Mina to Jamarat, where pilgrims ritually stone the devil by hurling pebbles at three large pillars.
- The pilgrimage, the world's largest annual gathering of people, has been the scene of deadly stampedes in the past, as well as other disasters including tent fires and riots.
- However, massive infrastructure upgrades and extensive spending on crowd control technology over the past two decades had made such events far less common.
Some two million people are performing the annual hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia's al-Ekhbariya television reported.
Saudi Arabia's health minister blamed "undisciplined pilgrims" for the stampede saying the tragedy would not have occurred if they "had followed instructions".
Health Minister Khaled al-Falih was quoted by El-Ekhbariya television as saying "many pilgrims move without respecting the timetables" established by authorities, which was the "principal reason for this type of accident."
"If the pilgrims had followed instructions, this type of accident could have been avoided."............http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0924/729937-haj-mecca/
24/9/15
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Bousculade à La Mecque: le bilan passe à 717 morts et 805 blessés ...
ReplyDeleteSelon un dernier bilan de la Protection civile saoudienne, la bousculade qui s'est produite jeudi à La Mecque a fait au moins 717 morts et 805 blessés, ajoute la protection civile.
L'incident a eu lieu à Mina, lieu des rites de lapidation symbolique faisant partie du pèlerinage musulman (le hajj). Une ville de tente avait été dressée pour accueillir les pèlerins. Ce pèlerinage rassemble environ deux millions de fidèles cette année.
Des scènes insoutenables
Des opérations de secours sont en cours. Selon la Défense civile, six de ses équipes s'emploient sur le terrain à porter les premiers soins aux blessés et à diriger le flot de pèlerins vers des "routes alternatives". Aucune explication n'a été fournie pour le moment sur les raisons de la bousculade. Quelles qu'elles soient, les images du drame, filmées par un journaliste du Volkskrant sur place, sont terribles (âmes sensibles s'abstenir):...................rtbf.be