During the annual Hajj in the Saudi kingdom, many pilgrims fell down Sunday morning as a result of heavy scrambling among pilgrims while they were throwing stones at the great Aqaba and as a result, at least 244 of them were trampled to death, an official source at the Ministry of Interior said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
In a statement to SPA, the source said that Saudi security and health authorities began rescue operations.
Hospital sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, could not say what the nationalities were of those who perished.
The rite continued despite the stampede, as the Saudi authorities began a press conference on Sunday.
According to official Saudi statistics, the number of pilgrims this year reached 1,892,710. 1,419,706 pilgrims of them came from abroad. The rest, 473,004 pilgrims, most of them non-Saudis, came from inside the kingdom. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
