BREAKING NEWS
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| Death toll rises to at least 453 in stampede near Mecca |
Thursday, September 24, 2015 7:38 AM EDT
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| At least 453 people were killed, and 719 were injured, in a stampede near
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday morning. |
| The deaths occurred around 9
a.m., on the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest holidays in the Muslim
calendar, and as millions of Muslims were making their pilgrimage, or hajj, to
Mecca. The accident took place at the intersection of two roads in Mina, causing
many to fall and others to panic, according to Saudi Arabia’s civil
defense directorate. |
| Saudi authorities reported the deaths on Twitter and
said that two medical centers had been opened in Mina to treat the injured. More
than 4,000 emergency workers were sent to the scene, and hundreds of people were
taken to four hospitals. |
| The stampede occurred less than two weeks after a
large construction crane toppled and crashed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca,
killing at least 111 people and injuring 394 others. |
| The accident on
Thursday, witnesses reported on social media, occurred around the area where
pilgrims go to perform a ritual — the Stoning of the Devil, a re-enactment
of a story from the Quran involving the Prophet Abraham — that takes place
during the hajj. |
| Read more » |
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