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Postedon26September201511:53am

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MINA,SaudiArabia:BlameshiftedtowardsSaudiauthoritiesFridayafteracrushatthehajjkilled
atleast717peopleduringtheworsttragedytostriketheannualMuslimpilgrimageinaquarter
century.
The disaster, which also injured several hundred people, was the second deadly accident to hit
worshippersthismonth,afteracranecollapseintheholycityofMeccakilledmorethan100.
Riyadh's regional rival Iran said 131 of its nationals were among the victims, and on Friday
steppedupitscriticismofthekingdom,demandingthataffectedcountrieshavearoleintheSaudi
investigationintothedisaster.
Witnessessaidpilgrimsdiedwitharmsdrapedaroundeachother.
"Therewasnoroomtomanoeuvre,"saidAminuAbubakar,anAFPcorrespondentwhoescaped
thecrushofbodiesbecausehewasattheheadofaprocession.
Fellowpilgrimstoldhimofchildrendyingdespiteparents'effortstosavethemnearthesprawling
tentcitywheretheywerelodged.
"Theythrewthemonrooftops,mostlytenttops...Mostofthemcouldn'tmakeit."
The stampede broke out in Mina, about five kilometres (three miles) from Mecca, during the
symbolic"stoningofthedevil"ritual.
Formalinquiry
Several African and North African countries confirmed deaths, as did India, Indonesia, Pakistan
andtheNetherlands.Moroccanmediagave87nationalskilled.
"Countries such as Iran, which have suffered so much, should be represented in the inquiry to
determinethecausesofthecatastropheandtogainassurancesthatitwillnotberepeatedinthe
future," Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said after an extraordinary session of the
cabinet.
King Salman, whose official title is "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in Mecca and Medina,
ordered"arevision"ofhowthehajjisorganised,statenewsagencySPAsaid.
Aformalinquiryisunderway.

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Nigeria'sPresidentMuhammaduBuhariurgedtheking"toensureacomprehensiveandthorough
exercisethatwillidentifyanyflawsinhajjorganisation".
Buharisaidhiscountryhadlostaprominentjournalist,aprofessor"andothers"inthetragedy.
Turkey reported 18 of its nationals missing but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended
Riyadh,withwhomAnkara'stieshavebeenimproving.
Hesaiditwouldbewrongto"pointafingeratSaudiArabiawhichdoesitsbest"tomakethehajj
possible.
PilgrimsatthescenefaultedSaudiauthoritiesandsomesaidtheywereafraidtocarryonwiththe
rituals.
Theyacknowledged,however,thatsecurityhadimprovedonFridayandthecrowdwassmaller.
'Isurvived'
SpecialemergencyforceswereheavilydeployedacrossMinawithdozensoftroopsateverylevel
ofthefivestoreybridgeusedforthestoningritualinwhichpebblesarethrownatwalls.
AKenyansurvivorwhoreturnedtothesiteonFridaytoldAFPhisgrouplostthreepeople.
"I can blame the Saudi government because they did not control (the situation). I was there. I
survived,"IsaacSalehsaid,tearswelling.
On Friday, Salman told a reception for the heads of visiting hajj delegations that Riyadh is
committed"toensurethecomfortofthevisitors,andwatchfortheirsafetyandsecurity".
During weekly prayers at Mecca's Grand Mosque, Sheikh Saleh alTaleb said the kingdom "is
capableofmanaginghajjaffairs"withoutoutsiderssuggestingtheycandobetter.
"It is unacceptable to ignore all the efforts" made to improve infrastructure at the holy sites, he
said.
SaudiArabiahasspentbillionofdollarsonhajjsafetymeasures.
HealthMinisterKhaledalFalihfaultedworshippersthemselvesforthetragedy,sayingthatif"the
pilgrimshadfollowedinstructions,thistypeofaccidentcouldhavebeenavoided".
Pilgrims, however, blamed road closures and poor management of the flow of hundreds of
thousandsofpilgrimsinsearingtemperatures.

PinjamanUtkGajiRendah

KelulusanDalam10MinitSahaja.
PinjamanMaxRM50k.GajiMinRM1.5k

KualaLumpur
Overcast
Temperature:31C
Wind:VariablefromSouth
SoutheasttoWest,9.3km/h
Reportedon:Sat,26/09/20153:30pm

"Peoplewerestumbling,falling,tryingtogetup.Theyweredehydrated,gettingdisorientated,they
weredyinginfrontofoureyes,"saidSouthAfricanbusinessmanZaidBayat,43.
Thestampedebeganataround9.00am(0600GMT)Thursday.
Pilgrims were converging on Mina's Jamarat Bridge to throw pebbles on the first day of the last
majorritualofthehajj,whichofficiallyendsonSaturday.
'Nocrowdcontrol'
Thestoningbridge,whichresemblesalargeparkinggarage,waserectedinthepastdecadeata
cost of more than $1 billion (893 million euros) and was intended to improve safety after past
disasters.
Interior ministry spokesman General Mansur alTurki said "a large number of pilgrims were in
motionatthesametime"atanintersectioninMina.
"Thegreatheatandfatigueofthepilgrimscontributedtothelargenumberofvictims,"hesaid.
IrfanalAlawi,cofounderoftheMeccabasedIslamicHeritageResearchFoundation,saidpolice
werenotproperlytrainedandlackedthelanguageskillsforcommunicatingwithforeigners.
"There'snocrowdcontrol,"hesaidonThursday.
Thedisastercameastheworld's1.5billionMuslimsmarkedEidalAdha,theFeastofSacrifice,
themostimportantholidayoftheIslamiccalendar.
Days before the hajj, a construction crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site,
killing109peopleincludingmanyforeigners.
OfficialfiguresreleasedonThursdaysaid1,952,817pilgrimshadjoinedthisyear'shajj,mostfrom
abroad.
Foryears,theeventwasmarredbystampedesandfires,butithadbeenlargelyincidentfreefor

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nearlyadecadeaftersafetyimprovements.
"Saudi Arabia is incapable of organising the pilgrimage," said Ayatollah Mohammad Emami
Kashani,leadingthemainweeklyprayersinTehranonFriday.
"TherunningofthehajjmustbehandedovertoIslamicstates,"hesaid.
IranonFridayorganisedanofficialprotestagainstthe"mischievousandincompetentregime"in
Riyadh,andsummonedtheSaudicharged'affairestoaskforthekingdom'shelpinrepatriating
thebodiesofIranianvictims.AFP

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