1994 Hajj stampede

1994 Hajj stampede
Date	23 May 1994 (1994-05-23)
Location	Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Deaths	270+
Non-fatal injuries	200+

The 1994 Hajj stampede resulted in the deaths of at least 270 pilgrims on 23 May 1994 during the Hajj in Mecca during the Stoning of the Devil ritual.

Event

Saudi officials said the stampede, which occurred at about 2pm local time,^[1] was caused by conditions "beyond human endurance", with a record 2.5 million pilgrims that year.^[2] Some victims were reported to have fallen from a pedestrian overpass (the Jamaraat Bridge) as a wave of pilgrims crowded those already on the overpass. After Saudi police sealed off the overpass, the crowds panicked and moved in two directions, causing more people to fall. Ambulances could not reach the scene of the incident fast enough, which likely contributed to the death toll.^[3]

A Saudi statement on the incident blamed pilgrims who were rushing to throw their stones as causing the stampede.^[4] The Saudis reported that 829 people died during the hajj, including 270 killed in the stampede, 536 who died from natural causes (which included sun stroke), and 23 from isolated incidents.^[2]^[5]^[6] A Saudi official also noted that people get trampled every year.^[3]

One Saudi report stated that the victims included 182 Turks, and mostly Lebanese among the remainder.^[7] Later reports suggested that most victims were Indonesian.^[8]

Subsequent measures

The Jamaraat Bridge (which still had a single tier at that time) was widened from 40 meters to 80 meters after the incident,^[9] though another large stampede occurred on the bridge four years later.

References

^ Razali, M. Jeffri (25 May 1994). No local pilgrim killed in Mina stampede, New Straits Times
^ ^a ^b (27 May 1994). Saudi Arabia: 270 killed in stampede, Sunday Courier (Associated Press story)
^ ^a ^b Ibrahim, Mohammed (25 May 1994). Mecca deaths could surpass 1,000, Spokesman-Review (Associated Press story)
^ (27 May 1994). 270 Died in Saudi Crush, The New York Times
^ (25 May 1994). At Least 250 Muslims Die in Mecca Stampede, The New York Times
^ "A Stampede Near Mecca Killed More Than 700 People Taking Part In the Hajj Pilgrimage". Mother Jones. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
^ Ibrahim, Mohammed (24 May 1994). Stampede kills hundreds in Mecca, Free Lance-Start (Associated Press story; AP stories have some overlap of reporting, but this one includes Turk/Lebanese information)
^ (10 April 1998). 100 Pilgrims Are Killed in Mecca in Stampede, The New York Times
^ (11 April 1998). 23 Indians killed in Haj stampede identified, Redriff