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Thursday 24 Sep 2015 - 23:01 Makkah mean time-11-12-1436
Mina (IINA) – Saudi Minister of Health Khalid Al-Falih attributed the cause of Mina's stampede that left 717 pilgrims dead and 863 injured on Thursday, to the overcrowding and non-compliance with the instructions of pilgrims' grouping.
Al-Falih said in a press statement that many pilgrims reverse the direction of the routes. Also, they come out of their tents at time not specified for leaving the camps.
According to the latest figures announced by the Saudi Civil Defense, the death toll from the incident surged to 717 dead and 863 injured.
"We will ensure full transparency in the declaration of the numbers of those who died and injured in the incident," Al-Falih was quoted by the Saudi News channel as saying.
He added that the Kingdom acts in transparency with data in its relation with the citizens and all countries around the globe.
Al-Falih stated that the ministry has immediately and fully mobilized its health authorities and healthcare workers after receiving the news of the incident.
"We have transferred a number of injured pilgrims to Makkah hospitals and others will be transferred to Jeddah and Taif hospitals soon," Al-Falih stressed, adding that the Saudi Air Ambulance began evacuation of Mina hospitals and summoned its air fleet.
The Civil Defense spokesman said that the stampede occurred at 9 a.m. on Thursday (Dhul Hijja 10) when two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads on their way to performing the stoning of Jamrat ul-Aqaba in Mina.
The spokesman emphasized that the Saudi security forces and the volunteers of the Red Crescent Authority managed to control the situation by preventing the pedestrian rush toward the site of the pilgrims' overcrowding and stampede, and by implementing procedures to treat the injured and rescue the trapped ones. He added that the wounded were rushed to hospitals for treatment.
Al-Falih inspected the medical and nursing teams serving the injured of the stampede. He also oversaw the process of admitting the cases and providing the first aid and medical services in the Mina Emergency Hospital, where he called for mobilizing all the hospital sections, healthcare workers and potential medical technologies to rescue the injured. The bodies of those who died after they had brought to the hospital were kept in the hospital's mortuary.
The minister expressed his sorrow and pain over the incident that led to the death and injury of hundreds of pilgrims. He prayed to Allah to bestow His mercy upon the souls of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, the paramedic teams of the Saudi Air Ambulance embarked on the evacuation of the inpatients in the public hospitals in Mina and transferring them to other hospitals outside the boundaries of the holy sites.
Mohamed Ghoneim, assistant director for Aviation Affairs at the Red Crescent Authority, stressed that the Saudi Air Ambulance has mobilized its14-aircraft fleet for the transfer of the injured and evacuation of others in order to provide beds for most critical cases that require urgent medical intervention in certain hospitals.
AB/IINA
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