MINA, 13 February 2003 — Some two million Muslims prayed and performed rituals on the fourth and penultimate day of Haj yesterday, unfazed by the stampede which killed 14 pilgrims a day earlier.
The deaths at Jamarat Bridge, where thousands of pilgrims thronged to stone a pillar symbolizing Satan, went largely unnoticed among pilgrims who have little access to the media.
“We are sorry about the tragedy but this is like a drop in the ocean,” said an official who asked not to be named. “Ninety percent of people don’t know about this, they are preoccupied with their worship.”
The 14 were crushed to death on the first day of Eid Al-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice, when Muslims slay livestock to commemorate the day when God tested Prophet Ibrahim by ordering him to sacrifice his only son Ismail.
Yesterday, authorities took extra precautions to avoid overcrowding, deploying even more troops around the massive bridge where scores of ambulances stood at the ready.
Security forces, wearing masks against the dust, tried to ensure a smooth flow of pilgrims, but the massive crowd of pilgrims was determined to chart its own course.
At the Haj security control center, Brig. Suleiman ibn Abdul Aziz told reporters that apart from Tuesday’s incident, this Haj had so far been trouble-free.
“Everything is going well so far today, but what we are worried about is tomorrow when all the pilgrims will start leaving,” he said while watching the movement of the crowd on wide-screen televisions.
Police Lt. Saeed Abdullah Aqrani said the authorities had initially thought the 14 pilgrims had been killed in a traffic accident.
“First we thought it was a collision because it took place on a highway reserved for cars but the crowd jammed the highway and were crushed as they flooded toward the bridge,” he said.
Eyewitnesses blamed the incident on pilgrims who squatted on the street, blocking the way with their belongings. (R)
