They had been traveling back from Makkah after performing Tawaf Al-Ifada (circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba). They had planned to perform the ritual of stoning the devil and then make their way back to their camps.
However, the heavens then opened, albeit briefly, and the pilgrims found that human cordons were promptly set up nearby, preventing them from taking the more direct route to their tents.
“We found a lot of army guards standing there, holding hands, blocking the exit. We were told to go right around,” said 25-year-old British pilgrim Yusuf Ahmed, who is on his first pilgrimage.
“They didn’t give any reason. It was sort of like, ‘carry on, carry on, carry on.’ All we could do was walk, and then we eventually found ourselves back at the place where we first started at the Jamrat.”
Ahmed added that they walked for at least three hours, only reaching their camp after 11 p.m. He claimed a second group of pilgrims who had traveled with them only made it back in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“Everyone was affected. Obviously there were people in wheelchairs, the elderly. To be honest, I saw parts of Mina I didn’t even know existed,” he added.
London-based Imam Muhammad Shoyaib, 45, said the guards were not really that interested in helping them, and told them to carry on walking. “What followed was absolute mayhem,” he said. “I speak Arabic and I asked them for directions, but they didn’t tell us anything.”
He added that there needed to be a clearer plan for such situations. He also urged authorities to ensure pilgrims are directed safely back to their camps to help them avoid having to walk long distances needlessly.
Ahmad added that there was a huge police presence throughout Mina. “The only thing in our minds was to get back in our tents, no matter what it took.”
The Civil Defense has provided boats and trained divers as some of its measures to protect pilgrims against floods in the holy city. Last year, heavy rainfall led to floods in parts of Mina during Haj. Although there were no casualties in Mina, scores of people died in floods in Jeddah.
