Saudi officials blame unruly pilgrims for Mina stampede

Makkah: Saudi Arabia blamed unruly pilgrims yesterday for the crush that killed 362 people during Haj rituals on Thursday.

The people were crushed on the last day of the annual pilgrimage at the disaster-prone Al Jamarat Bridge in Mina, a narrow valley near Makkah, as they jostled to perform a stoning ritual in the early afternoon.

"The state has made every effort and done everything it should," the kingdom's top cleric, Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh said on state television, accusing pilgrims of being disorderly.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, as well as the kingdom's interior minister, also blamed pilgrims who defied the rules by carrying their belongings with them and ignored advice to stagger the rituals.

"It pains us that so many people died, but we must point out that the security forces averted many more disasters from happening and saved many lives," the SPA quoted Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz as saying.

A health ministry spokes-man put the final death toll at 363 and said the victims were mostly from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, India and Turkey.

Two UAE pilgrims killed, another is missing

Two UAE pilgrims were killed in Mina and another is missing following Thursday's stampede, the head of UAE's Haj mission said yesterday. Mubarak Saeed Bin Tahi Al Rashidi and Rashid Marzouq Al Meqbali was declared dead, while an Egyptian woman from the UAE is on the missing list, Musabah Mohammad Al Suwaidi, told Gulf News by phone yesterday.

"Al Rashidi was buried in Makkah on request from his family."

- Samir Salama, Abu Dhabi Bureau Chief