This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
Thursday 24 Sep 2015 - 14:16 Makkah mean time-11-12-1436
 Mina (IINA) - The death toll from the Mina stampede has climbed to 310 while 450 pilgrims were injured, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting the Civil Defense spokesman.
Rescue operations were under way after the stampede that occurred at 9 a.m. at the intersection of Street 204 and Street 223 while the pilgrims were on their way to the Jamarat complex. “There was an immediate surge in the number of pilgrims heading to the Jamrat at the intersection that led to stampede and falling of several pilgrims,” the spokesman said adding that the injured pilgrims were rushed to hospitals.
Most of the injured pilgrims were taken to the Mina Emergency Hospital. Sirens were wailing as the ambulances brought in the injured. Hundreds of Saudi security forces and Haj volunteers are at hand helping the injured. Street 204 is one of the two main arteries leading through the camp to Jamarat, where pilgrims ritually stone the devil by hurling pebbles. Photographs published on the Civil Defense Twitter feed showed pilgrims lying on stretchers while emergency workers in high-visibility jackets lifted them into an ambulance. "Work is underway to separate large groups of people and direct pilgrims to alternative routes," the Saudi Civil Defense said on its Twitter account.
The Jamrat area, where the pilgrims have to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual, has seen stampedes in the past. But the Saudi authorities have expanded the area by constructing a multilayered complex to ease the flow of pilgrims.
HA/IINA
|
No comments:
Post a Comment