A security officer monitors Muslim pilgrims attending the annual hajj pilgrimage on CCTV screens at a security command center in Mina, Saudi Arabia, in Friday, Sept. 25 2015, a day after a stampede killed more than 700 people. Saudi authorities are investigating what sparked Thursday’s disaster in Mina, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Mecca. Initial reports suggested two crowds coming from opposing directions converged on an intersection, which began pushing and shoving until a stampede began. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)
The street where the incident took place is about 12 meters (36 feet) wide and lined with barricades, behind which are tents of hajj tour groups. Pilgrims move in one direction to and from a religious complex, where they throw stones at pillars representing the devil. On Thursday, the crowds apparently collided with each other at an intersection, the Interior Ministry said.
Survivor Mahfouz el-Taweel of Egypt told the AP he was in the crowd packed shoulder to shoulder that collided on the same street with another mass of people coming from a different direction. Those in the back were unaware of this and pressed forward, causing a crush of bodies, trampling and a stampede, the 52-year-old el-Taweel said.
“If they had barred people from coming the other way, this would not have happened,” he said.
“I’m coming to perform the hajj, not to die,” el-Taweel added. “These people deserve compensation. It’s not just enough to say God’s will and call them martyrs.”
He said Saudi Arabia should share responsibility for the hajj with a multinational force from some of the countries that send large numbers of pilgrims, such as Egypt.
About 2 million pilgrims from more than 180 countries took part in this year’s hajj, which ends Saturday.
Pakistan said eight of its pilgrims were killed in the accident, but 150 were still missing. Reports said at least 30 people were killed from Mali, 14 each from Egypt and India, five from Senegal, four from Turkey, and three each from Indonesia and Kenya.
The deaths of the Iranians ignited long-simmering anger Iran holds for Saudi Arabia over the authority the kingdom exerts over the hajj, especially after allegations in April that Saudi airport officials abused two male pilgrims from Iran.
Although hundreds of thousands of Iranians make religious trips to Saudi Arabia each year, Iran for a time stopped sending pilgrims. That came after Saudi security forces killed more than 400 people, mostly Iranians, in a 1987 clash sparked by protesting Iranian pilgrims.
