Riyadh: Muslim pilgrims joining this year’s Haj in Saudi Arabia will have to wear an electronic safety bracelet, newspapers reported Friday, after more than 2,000 died in a stampede last year.
The high-tech safety measure will help authorities provide care “and identify people”, papers reported.
At least 2,297 pilgrims died during the stampede on September 24 during last year’s Haj, according to data from foreign officials, some of whom expressed concerns about difficulty in identifying the victims.
Saudi Arabia issued a death toll of 769.
It was the worst disaster in Haj history.
The bracelets are water resistant, connected to a GPS location system, and store each pilgrim’s personal information including address and medical records, the newspapers said.
Water-resistant and connected to GPS, the devices will also instruct worshippers on timings of prayers and a multi-lingual help desk to guide especially non-Arabic speaking pilgrims around the various rituals of the annual event.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister who also chairs the Haj committee, ordered a probe immediately after the stampede disaster last year but there has been no word on its findings.
The tragedy happened as pilgrims made their way in searing temperatures to the Jamarat, the place where they ritually stone the devil in the city of Mina in western Saudi Arabia.
The Haj and lesser umrah pilgrimages bring millions of Muslims to Saudi Arabia every year.
In another safety measure, more than 800 surveillance cameras have been installed at Makkah’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, the Saudi Gazette reported this month.
Safety during the pilgrimage is also at the heart of a dispute with the kingdom’s regional arch-rival, Iran, which lost 400 of its citizens to last year’s stampede.
The two countries have failed to strike a deal for Iranian pilgrims to attend this year’s haj, given their lack of diplomatic relations. Iran’s leadership said in May it remained “very concerned” for the safety of Iranian pilgrims.
