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THE HATTAL
Monday, February 2, 2004
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Brendan Mitchell of Gainsville, Texas, launches a superman seat grab over the basketball court during ll* take
Creative Sports BMX stunt show halftime performance at the Texas A&M men's basketball game on SatunJogr they
A
Hajj pilgrimage again
tragedy as 244 die in
marred l
stamped
By Rawya Rageh
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINA, Saudi Arabia — At
least 244 people were tram
pled to death and hundreds
more hurt Sunday under the
crush of worshippers in one of
the deadliest disasters during
the annual Muslim pilgrimage
to Saudi Arabia.
The stampede occurred dur
ing the stoning of the devil, an
emotional and notoriously per
ilous hajj ritual. Pilgrims franti
cally throw rocks, shout insults
or hurl their shoes at three stone
pillars — acts that are supposed
to demonstrate their deep dis
dain for Satan.
Safety measures were in
place at the site — one where
fatal stampedes have been fre
quent — but “caution isn’t
stronger than fate,” said Saudi
Hajj Minister lyad Madani. “All
precautions were taken to pre
vent such an incident, but this is
God’s will.”
The stampede broke out on
one of two ramps leading to the
50-foot stone pillars. Tens of
thousands of people were on the
uppermost ramp, which is about
the width of a five-lane highway.
Authorities said a few pilgrims
fell, causing panic as pressure
built up in the crowd behind.
Brig. Mansour al-Turki of the
Saudi General Security Forces
said about I0.0(X) general secu
rity officers were on duty in the
area at the time.
Their intervention “resulted in
containing the pushing toward the
pillar to prevent more pilgrims
from falling,” an unidentified
Saudi Interior Ministry official
said, the state-run Saudi Press
Agency reported.
The same area was the scene
of similar deadly incidents in
1998, 2001 and last year.
Sunday’s tragedy marked the
worst disaster at the annual hajj
since 1997, when 340 pilgrims
died in a fire at their tent city in
Mina, near the holy city of Mecca.
Most of the dead Sunday were
pilgrims from inside the Saudi
kingdom who may not have been
authorized to participate, Madani
said. It was unclear how many for
eign pilgrims died, but Egypt's
Middle East News Agency report
ed that 13 Egyptians were among
the dead.
Madani also said 272 pil
grims had died of natural causes
during th£ hajj. Many partici-
son,
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pants are elderly, and
believe that if a person
while performing thepilg
they will go directly fole|
About 2 million Muslim
participating in thislearij
grimage. To control itiecif
Saudi authorities set quoi
pilgrims from each couniiy
also require its citizens*
dents to register upon dnifl
The chaos came after a ^
less night of prayer at thedt
of the hajj.
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