MINA: At least 150 pilgrims are martyred and more than 500 injured when a stampede broke out in the tent city of Mina on Thursday.
Initially, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense officials confirmed the number of deaths of pilgrims to be 100 in the stampede, which has sharply risen.
The heartbreaking incident happened when the pilgrims were preforming rite of stoning Satan, the last ritual of Hajj. It is a very hot day in Saudi Arab as mercury hit 41 C.
The civil defense team also said that their teams on the ground are leading pilgrims to safer routes away from the stampede through alternate routes and that rescue operations are still underway.
More deaths are feared.
The worst deadly incident during Hajj in decades was happened when around 340 people were martyred in fire in 1997, while 244 were martyred in 2004 at the overcrowded Mina tent camp.
(Developing Story)
