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MAKKAH, Jan 13: Saudi Arabia on Friday blamed unruly pilgrims for the crush that killed 362 people on Thursday, but many Muslims said better security could have averted the worst disaster.
“The state has made every effort and done everything it should,” the kingdom’s top religious leader, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh said on state television, accusing pilgrims of being disorderly.
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, as well as the kingdom’s interior minister, also blamed pilgrims who defied the rules by carrying their belongings with them and ignored advice to stagger the rituals through the day.
Health Ministry spokesman Khaled al-Mirghalani put the final death toll at 362, up from 345 announced on Thursday. He said 45 remained in hospital but with only light injuries.
The dead included people from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
India said at least 27 of its citizens were killed in the crush, Indonesia reported two of its pilgrims had died and Pakistan said it knew of 36 fatalities so far.
UNRULY CROWDS: Many pilgrims insist on following Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) example of stoning after noon prayers instead of staggering the ritual throughout the day as some clerics recommend.
But some pilgrims said the authorities had failed to impose their own rules on the ritual, which has seen similar deadly stampedes in the past.
“There seemed to be more security forces this year but they were not very organized or had any plan,” said 28-year-old Jihad from Egypt.
Witnesses also said the tragedy was caused as the flow of pilgrims entering and leaving the Jamarat Bridge clashed, ignoring instructions on huge notice boards, loudspeakers and pamphlets on how to perform the rites.
This year’s Haj had already been marred by the collapse of a Makkah hostel that killed 76 people last week.—Reuters
