Credit Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense
UPDATED: As of 10:25 EDT the latest reports indicate Stampede kills more than 700 at Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca.
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The numbers are still coming in, but less than two weeks after the crane accident in Mecca which killed 107 and injured nearly 400, a stampede reportedly has claimed the lives of at least 453 people, and injured another 700, today in Mina.
This update from Reuters:
Death toll at Saudi stampede rises to 453 - Saudi civil defence
DUBAI (Reuters) - The death toll from a stampede during the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Thursday has risen to 453 people of various nationalities, the Saudi civil defence said.
It said that the crush, caused by large numbers of people gathering at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, had left 719 people injured.
Stampedes, sadly, occur fairly frequently around the world, often at sporting events, concerts, or religious gatherings – anyplace you put a huge number of people into a confined area.
- In 1979, a crush incident at a rock concert in Cincinnati, Ohio where The Who were playing resulted in 11 deaths and 26 injuries.
- In 1989, 96 people were killed during a crush at a football match in Sheffield, England
- In 2006, the Hajj saw a crush that killed 345 at Jamarat Bridge in Mecca during the stoning of the devil
- At least 36 people were killed, and 47 injured during the 2014 New Year’s celebration in central Shanghai.
- Earlier this year at least 27 Hindu pilgrims died in a stampede on the banks of the Godavari River, in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
- But the deadliest stampede in modern times took place in 1900, when nearly 1,500 were killed in Mecca.
