News / Infogram

Disasters in Saudi Arabia

Monday, 12 September 2016 9:07 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 13 September 2016 4:33 PM ]

First responders carry away a victim from a deadly crush during Hajj rituals in Mina, September 2015. (File photo)

September 11, 2015 turned out to be a catastrophic day for Mecca’s Grand Mosque as a crane near the mosque, on the site of a massive construction project headed by the Binladin Group, collapsed, bringing down slabs of concrete on the worshipers below.

Only 13 days later, another disaster struck the pilgrims. The exits of the pathways from the pedestrians leading to Jamaraat were blocked for no clear reason; therefore, the exiting pilgrims had to return from the exits to find another way. At the same time, thousands of incoming pilgrims, not knowing that the exits were closed, rushed against those who were just coming back from the blocked exits. This is exactly where a crush occurred. Among the victims were 464 Iranian pilgrims.

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