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| Saudi Arabia under pressure to improve safety at Mecca after fatal hajj crush | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Saudi Arabia is under increasing pressure to improve safety for pilgrims in the wake of the deaths of at least 717 people in a stampede outside Mecca at the annual Muslim hajj. | Saudi Arabia is under increasing pressure to improve safety for pilgrims in the wake of the deaths of at least 717 people in a stampede outside Mecca at the annual Muslim hajj. |
| More than 850 people were also wounded in the crush during the symbolic stoning of the devil at Mina, the worst tragedy during the hajj for 25 years. It was the second deadly accident affecting Mecca worshippers this month, after a crane collapse in the holy city killed more than 100. | More than 850 people were also wounded in the crush during the symbolic stoning of the devil at Mina, the worst tragedy during the hajj for 25 years. It was the second deadly accident affecting Mecca worshippers this month, after a crane collapse in the holy city killed more than 100. |
| Related: Iran blames Saudi mismanagement for deadly hajj crush | |
| The identities and nationalities of the victims have yet to be officially announced as a swift investigation, ordered by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, gets under way. It will be chaired by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. | The identities and nationalities of the victims have yet to be officially announced as a swift investigation, ordered by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, gets under way. It will be chaired by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. |
| Salman admitted there was a need “to improve the level of organisation and management of movement” of pilgrims, amid pressure from two of the most influential Islamic nations, Iran and Indonesia. | Salman admitted there was a need “to improve the level of organisation and management of movement” of pilgrims, amid pressure from two of the most influential Islamic nations, Iran and Indonesia. |
| Iran’s national hajj organisation said the country’s death toll from the stampede stands at 131, with 60 injured. The Fars news agency said Tehran summoned the Saudi chargée d’affaires to lodge an official complaint over the disaster. | |
| Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed the Saudi government for the disaster. In a statement published on his website, he said: “The Saudi government should accept the responsibility of this sorrowful incident ... Mismanagement and improper actions have caused this catastrophe.” | Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed the Saudi government for the disaster. In a statement published on his website, he said: “The Saudi government should accept the responsibility of this sorrowful incident ... Mismanagement and improper actions have caused this catastrophe.” |
| The Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, who leads the world’s most populous Muslim nation, said “there must be improvements in the management of the hajj so that this incident is not repeated”. | The Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, who leads the world’s most populous Muslim nation, said “there must be improvements in the management of the hajj so that this incident is not repeated”. |
| Duka cita mendalam atas peristiwa Mina. Harus ada perbaikan pengelolaan haji supaya peristiwa ini tidak terulang lagi -Jkw | Duka cita mendalam atas peristiwa Mina. Harus ada perbaikan pengelolaan haji supaya peristiwa ini tidak terulang lagi -Jkw |
| King Salman called for an improvement in the management of the pilgrimage, but some members of the Saudi government appeared to blame the victims. In a TV address, he said: “We have instructed concerned authorities to review the operations plan ... (and) to raise the level of organisation and management to ensure that the guests of God perform their rituals in comfort and ease”. | King Salman called for an improvement in the management of the pilgrimage, but some members of the Saudi government appeared to blame the victims. In a TV address, he said: “We have instructed concerned authorities to review the operations plan ... (and) to raise the level of organisation and management to ensure that the guests of God perform their rituals in comfort and ease”. |
| Mohammed Jafari, an advisor to Hajj and Umrah Travel, the first hajj tour operator in the UK, said a contributory factor to the crush was the decision to close two roads while King Salman met visiting dignitaries in Mina. | Mohammed Jafari, an advisor to Hajj and Umrah Travel, the first hajj tour operator in the UK, said a contributory factor to the crush was the decision to close two roads while King Salman met visiting dignitaries in Mina. |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “The Saudis say after every disaster ‘it is God’s will’. It is not God’s will – it is man’s incompetence. Talking to pilgrims on the ground yesterday, the main reason for this accident was that the king, in his palace in Mina, was receiving dignitaries and for this reason they closed two entrances to where the stoning happened ... these were the two roads where people were not able to proceed. | |
| “You have a stream of people going in and if you stop that stream, and the population builds up, eventually there is going to be an accident. | “You have a stream of people going in and if you stop that stream, and the population builds up, eventually there is going to be an accident. |
| “It is the fault of the Saudi government because any time a prince comes along, they close the roads, they don’t think about the disaster waiting to happen.” | “It is the fault of the Saudi government because any time a prince comes along, they close the roads, they don’t think about the disaster waiting to happen.” |
| Jafari called on the British government to use its influence with the Saudis to improve safety at the pilgrimage. He said: “They have to change their ways and have proper disaster planning and proper crisis management. They have CCTV and in this investigation they should look at the CCTV footage. If someone caused this accident, they should be fired. There should be a proper investigation, a criminal investigation.” | Jafari called on the British government to use its influence with the Saudis to improve safety at the pilgrimage. He said: “They have to change their ways and have proper disaster planning and proper crisis management. They have CCTV and in this investigation they should look at the CCTV footage. If someone caused this accident, they should be fired. There should be a proper investigation, a criminal investigation.” |
| Liaqat Hussain, a trustee at Bradford central mosque who has been on the hajj, said: “There is total lack of crowd management.” | Liaqat Hussain, a trustee at Bradford central mosque who has been on the hajj, said: “There is total lack of crowd management.” |
| He told Good Morning Britain that there is no proper guidance and no proper directions for the people there. Hussain said there needed to be improvements and said the British government should set up an inquiry into the incident. | |
| The Saudi health minister, Khalid al-Falih, claimed the pilgrims had been undisciplined. He told local television: “The accident, as most know, was a stampede caused by overcrowding, and also caused by some of the pilgrims not following the movement instructions of the security and hajj ministry.” | The Saudi health minister, Khalid al-Falih, claimed the pilgrims had been undisciplined. He told local television: “The accident, as most know, was a stampede caused by overcrowding, and also caused by some of the pilgrims not following the movement instructions of the security and hajj ministry.” |
| High temperatures and exhaustion may have contributed to the disaster, the military spokesman Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki said, but he said there was no indication the authorities were to blame. He was quoted by Associated Press as saying: “Unfortunately, these incidents happen in a moment.” | High temperatures and exhaustion may have contributed to the disaster, the military spokesman Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki said, but he said there was no indication the authorities were to blame. He was quoted by Associated Press as saying: “Unfortunately, these incidents happen in a moment.” |
| Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the head of Saudi Arabia’s central hajj committee, was criticised on social media after reportedly blaming the fatal crush on “some pilgrims with African nationalities”. Jafari accused the Saudi government of making racist statements by suggesting that the stampede was caused by African pilgrims. | Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the head of Saudi Arabia’s central hajj committee, was criticised on social media after reportedly blaming the fatal crush on “some pilgrims with African nationalities”. Jafari accused the Saudi government of making racist statements by suggesting that the stampede was caused by African pilgrims. |
| Mansour Turki, an interior ministry spokesman, said the investigation would look into what caused an unusual mass of pilgrims to congregate at the location of the disaster. He told a press conference in Mina: “The reason for that is not known yet.” | Mansour Turki, an interior ministry spokesman, said the investigation would look into what caused an unusual mass of pilgrims to congregate at the location of the disaster. He told a press conference in Mina: “The reason for that is not known yet.” |
| Pope Francis touched on the pain felt in the Islamic world during his address to both houses of the US Congress on Thursday evening. He began his homily by telling his “Muslim brothers and sisters” that they were assured of his prayers for “the tragedy they have suffered at Mecca”. |