Mecca stampede’s death toll rises to 769
Muslim pilgrims walk in a tunnel on their way to cast stones at Jamarrat pillars during the annual haj in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.(AP/Mosa’ab Elshamy)
(VOVworld) - The death toll in a stampede at the annual hajj pilgrimage outside Mecca rose to 769, Saudi Arabia said on Saturday. Saudi health minister Khalid al-Falih told a news conference that is an increase of 52 on the previous figures. The worst disaster to befall the Islamic event in a quarter of a century occurred on Thursday as two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers outside the holy city.
At least 225 Indonesian pilgrims and 136 Iranians were reported among the death of the stampede.