Hajj Stampede Near Mecca Leaves Over 700 Dead
BEIRUT,
Lebanon — In streaming ribbons of white, great masses of Muslim
pilgrims made their way between cities of air-conditioned tents toward
the next stop on their holy tour of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Then
something went disastrously wrong, trapping the crowds in narrow
streets and touching off a mass panic and crushing stampede that left
the asphalt covered with lost sandals, crumpled wheelchairs and piles of
white-robed bodies.
It was the deadliest accident during the hajj
pilgrimage in a quarter-century, with at least 717 pilgrims from around
the world killed and more than 850 injured. And it posed yet another
challenge for the country’s new leader, King Salman, who is already
coping with low oil prices, a war in Yemen and an increasingly fierce
rivalry with Iran.
The stampede was the latest in a series of crises that have plagued the pilgrimage this season: Just two weeks ago, a crane collapse killed more than 100 visitors, and hotel fires have injured others. The missteps have embarrassed the insular Saudi monarchy, which considers itself the global guardian of orthodox Islam and takes great pride in protecting the holy sites and their millions of annual visitors.
The stampede was the latest in a series of crises that have plagued the pilgrimage this season: Just two weeks ago, a crane collapse killed more than 100 visitors, and hotel fires have injured others. The missteps have embarrassed the insular Saudi monarchy, which considers itself the global guardian of orthodox Islam and takes great pride in protecting the holy sites and their millions of annual visitors.
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