At least 85 people were killed on Thursday in a stampede at the procession symbolising the stoning of the devil during the annual hajj pilgrimage, medical sources said.
”The number of killed is 85, and the figure is due to rise because most of the victims are in critical condition,” said one medical source.
The stoning of Satan is the riskiest episode of the hajj as the pilgrims jostle to make sure their pebbles touch the pillar while the weaker ones risk being trampled on by the masses.
On February 1 2004, 251 pilgrims were killed and at least the same amount injured during the stoning ritual and on May 24 1994, 270 pilgrims perished during the ritual.
On July 2 1990, 1 426 pilgrims, mostly Asians, were trampled or asphyxiated to death in a stampede in a tunnel in Mina. – AFP
