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/ 21 December 2007
The annual hajj in Saudi Arabia entered its final day on Friday as the last of almost 2,5-million Muslim pilgrims took part in the ritual ”stoning of Satan”. Eager pilgrims from across the world thronged around the Jamarat Bridge at Mina, east of Mecca, from the early hours to throw pebbles at the three massive pillars representing the devil.
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/ 13 January 2006
Stricken families were hunting for their loved ones on Friday after a stampede that killed 362 Muslims at the annual hajj — a disaster Saudi authorities have blamed on unruly pilgrims. Weeping in front of a wall of pictures of dead pilgrims, families continued to seek news of missing relatives at the morgue in Mina, where the stampede took place.
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/ 13 January 2006
At least 345 Muslim pilgrims were trampled to death on Thursday as they tripped over luggage in a scramble to hurl pebbles at symbols of Satan during the annual pilgrimage, Saudi officials said. It was the latest in a succession of stampede tragedies to hit the hajj pilgrimage despite efforts by Saudi authorities to avoid a repeat of disasters like the one that killed 1 426 people in 1990.
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/ 12 January 2006
At least 345 people were killed on Thursday in a stampede at the procession symbolising the stoning of the devil during the annual pilgrimage, said Saudi Health Minister Hamad bin Abdullah al-Maneh. About 289 other pilgrims were wounded in the accident due to "unruly pilgrims, and a problem of luggage," al-Maneh told reporters.
An estimated 2,5-million Muslim pilgrims began the annual trek on Sunday from the holy city of Mecca to the valley of Mina, with Saudi authorities on high alert to prevent another tragedy. The pilgrimage rites, known as the hajj, start three days after an ageing hostel in the heart of Mecca collapsed, killing 76 people.
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/ 18 January 2005
Chanting ”Oh Allah I’m here”, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims draped in white garments on Tuesday began to take part in rituals symbolising the life of their seventh-century prophet and streaming into the mammoth tent city of Mina. Two million people travel to the holy cities in Saudi Arabia each year to participate in the hajj pilgrimage.