Stampede at haj: City pilgrims escape tragedy by avoiding crowded early session
By Sadaf Modak
Incident occurred between Mina and Jamraat where, tour operators allege, traffic cops try to regulate hajis like cars, creating confusion, bottlenecks that could have led to the stampede.
While a stampede during one of the final rituals of the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia claimed over 700 lives, officials of the Haj Committee of India said late Thursday night that there were no casualties reported of pilgrims from Mumbai so far. This, as some pilgrims said, could have been because most of them avoided the initial crowded morning session.
Some pilgrims from Mumbai present in Mina whom Mirrorspoke to said that they were not at the spot but in the vicinity when the tragedy occurred during the early session of the ritual. “There usually is a large crowd when the ritual begins. It is almost a 2-km walk to the pillars from Muzdalifah, where the stones are collected. Some pilgrims sit to rest, but the oncoming crowd could have led to the stampede,” said Sayyed Ashfaq Hussain, 58, a Byculla resident who went for haj with his wife. “When we went around 11 am for the ritual, there were a lot of personnel guiding pilgrims. They kept asking people not to sit and were ensuring the crowd was managed properly,” he said.
Haj Committee officials said there are about 4,300 pilgrims from Mumbai, including senior citizens and children. Parvez Ukani, another Mumbai resident, said that the group he is with decided to perform the ritual only after the initial crowd had subsided. “By the time we reached the spot, the authorities had cleared the area,” Parvez said.
Mohsin Muni, a tour operator from Dongri who has taken pilgrims from Mumbai and Gujarat told Mirror, “We are a group of 99, but none of us went to the spot in the early morning session. We were informed that a family from Pakistan — a man, his wife and sister-inlaw — who were in our neighbouring tent, died in the stampede.”
The incident occurred along the short stretch between the tents from Mina to the Jamraat, an area that city tour operators alleged is manned by traffic cops who try to regulate the swarm of hajis like cars, and create confusion and bottlenecks which could have caused the stampede. Stoning the devil is the final ritual of the pilgrimage which concludes the haj.
The Saudis, who normally manage the multitude of hajis in Mecca which is a modern city with wide roads, cannot handle the crowds in smaller township of Mina which has narrow roads and smaller lanes that get crowded with the deluge of pilgrims that increases by the hour.
Sayyed further said that most Asians, including Indian pilgrims, left for the ritual after the morning session. “We heard that most of the victims were from Arab countries and were waiting outside the gate since the morning prayers,” he said. Hussain too said that according to the Consul General of India in Jeddah, the tents in the affected areas were occupied by pilgrims from African and Arab countries. “Indian pilgrims stay in Souq-al-Arab Street and Jawhara Street, and so far we have not received reports of India pilgrims affected in the incident,” a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
A Haj Committee official, however, said the relatives of some pilgrims have not yet managed to contact their family members in Saudi. “Since the news of the stampede, we have received many calls from relatives all over the country. Some people may have lost their phones in the stampede, or may have not answered them because they may be performing the rituals,” said the official.
This is the second tragedy to occur during the haj pilgrimage this year. A crane had collapsed due to bad weather onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca on September 11, causing the death of 118 people and injuring 394. Stampedes in Mina too have occurred in the past, with 1,426 deaths being the highest figure reported in 1990.
Stampede near Mecca leaves over 700 dead
Incident occurred between Mina and Jamraat where, tour operators allege, traffic cops try to regulate hajis like cars, creating confusion, bottlenecks that could have led to the stampede.
While a stampede during one of the final rituals of the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia claimed over 700 lives, officials of the Haj Committee of India said late Thursday night that there were no casualties reported of pilgrims from Mumbai so far. This, as some pilgrims said, could have been because most of them avoided the initial crowded morning session.
“We have been informed that the Saudi authorities have sent the bodies to the mortuary. After the formalities are completed, photos of those who have lost their lives will be displayed for identification by relatives and the embassies,” said Deputy Chief Executive Officer K Zahir Hussain, Haj Committee of India.
Some pilgrims from Mumbai present in Mina whom Mirrorspoke to said that they were not at the spot but in the vicinity when the tragedy occurred during the early session of the ritual. “There usually is a large crowd when the ritual begins. It is almost a 2-km walk to the pillars from Muzdalifah, where the stones are collected. Some pilgrims sit to rest, but the oncoming crowd could have led to the stampede,” said Sayyed Ashfaq Hussain, 58, a Byculla resident who went for haj with his wife. “When we went around 11 am for the ritual, there were a lot of personnel guiding pilgrims. They kept asking people not to sit and were ensuring the crowd was managed properly,” he said.
Haj Committee officials said there are about 4,300 pilgrims from Mumbai, including senior citizens and children. Parvez Ukani, another Mumbai resident, said that the group he is with decided to perform the ritual only after the initial crowd had subsided. “By the time we reached the spot, the authorities had cleared the area,” Parvez said.
Mohsin Muni, a tour operator from Dongri who has taken pilgrims from Mumbai and Gujarat told Mirror, “We are a group of 99, but none of us went to the spot in the early morning session. We were informed that a family from Pakistan — a man, his wife and sister-inlaw — who were in our neighbouring tent, died in the stampede.”
The incident occurred along the short stretch between the tents from Mina to the Jamraat, an area that city tour operators alleged is manned by traffic cops who try to regulate the swarm of hajis like cars, and create confusion and bottlenecks which could have caused the stampede. Stoning the devil is the final ritual of the pilgrimage which concludes the haj.
The Saudis, who normally manage the multitude of hajis in Mecca which is a modern city with wide roads, cannot handle the crowds in smaller township of Mina which has narrow roads and smaller lanes that get crowded with the deluge of pilgrims that increases by the hour.
Sayyed further said that most Asians, including Indian pilgrims, left for the ritual after the morning session. “We heard that most of the victims were from Arab countries and were waiting outside the gate since the morning prayers,” he said. Hussain too said that according to the Consul General of India in Jeddah, the tents in the affected areas were occupied by pilgrims from African and Arab countries. “Indian pilgrims stay in Souq-al-Arab Street and Jawhara Street, and so far we have not received reports of India pilgrims affected in the incident,” a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
A Haj Committee official, however, said the relatives of some pilgrims have not yet managed to contact their family members in Saudi. “Since the news of the stampede, we have received many calls from relatives all over the country. Some people may have lost their phones in the stampede, or may have not answered them because they may be performing the rituals,” said the official.
This is the second tragedy to occur during the haj pilgrimage this year. A crane had collapsed due to bad weather onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca on September 11, causing the death of 118 people and injuring 394. Stampedes in Mina too have occurred in the past, with 1,426 deaths being the highest figure reported in 1990.
Stampede near Mecca leaves over 700 dead
