2015 Mina stampede

2015 Mina stampede
The way to Jamaraat Bridge (2011)
Date24 September 2015; 9 years ago (2015-09-24)
Time09:00 AST (UTC+03:00)
LocationMina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Coordinates21°24′59.5″N 39°53′04.9″E / 21.416528°N 39.884694°E / 21.416528; 39.884694
CauseDisputed
DeathsEstimates:
2,411 (AP)[1]
2,070 (Reuters)[2]
2,236 (AFP)[3]
2,431 (Total/National)
769 (Saudi government)[1][4]

On 24 September 2015, a fatal crowd crush resulted in the death of more than 2,000 individuals, many of whom were suffocated or crushed, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history.[5][6][7] Estimates of the number of dead vary: the Associated Press reported 2,411 dead,[1][8] while Agence France-Presse reported 2,236 killed.[3] Based on the total of the individual national reports cited in the table below (nationalities of victims), at least 2,431 lives were claimed.[note 1] The government of Saudi Arabia officially reported two days after the event that there had been 769 deaths and 934 injured.[1][9][10] These figures remained official at the time of the next year's Hajj and were never updated.[4] The largest number of victims were from Iran, followed by Mali and Nigeria.[11]

The crush occurred in Mina at the intersection of streets 204 and 223 leading to Jamaraat Bridge.[12] The cause of the disaster remains in dispute.[13][14] The Mina disaster inflamed tensions between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, which were already elevated due to the wider turmoil in the Middle East, such as the Syrian Civil War and Yemeni Civil War.[15][16][17] In a press conference held on the day of the incident, Saudi Ministry of Interior spokesman Mansour Al-Turki attempted to address most issues regarding the incident. He said in September 2015 that an investigation was ongoing, and that the exact cause of the overcrowding that resulted in the deadly crush had not yet been ascertained.[18][19]

  1. ^ a b c d Gambrell, Jon; Ahmed, Baba (9 December 2015). "Hajj Stampede in September Killed Over 2,400, New Count Finds". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. ^ "رویترز: شمار قربانیان منا سه برابر آمار ادعایی عربستان است" [Reuters: MINA: three times the number of victims claimed by Saudi Arabia's statistics]. Deutsche Welle. 13 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Iran says tests will show cause of diplomat's death in Saudi". Agence France-Presse. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b "As hajj nears, questions about deadly 2015 stampede remain". Associated Press News. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  5. ^ Gambrell, Jon; Ahmed, Munir; Osman, Mohamed; Batrawy, Aya; Mazen, Maram (9 October 2015). "Saudi crush was deadliest hajj tragedy ever". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Foreign toll figures show hajj tragedy deadliest in history". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  7. ^ Gambrell, Jon; Batrawy, Aya (14 October 2015). "New tally shows at least 1,621 killed in Saudi hajj tragedy". Business Insider. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Iran holds funeral for diplomat killed in Saudi hajj crush". Associated Press. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Hajj stampede: Saudi officials clarify toll after questions". BBC News. 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  10. ^ Piggott, Mark (26 September 2015). "Hajj stampede death toll 'rises up to 1,100' as Saudi Arabia faces criticism over safety record". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  11. ^ "2015 disaster looms large as Muslims descend on Saudi Arabia for hajj". The Guardian. 8 September 2016. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Hundreds killed in stampede at Muslim hajj pilgrimage". CBS News. Associated Press. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  13. ^ Morello, Carol (27 September 2015). "Iran demands Saudi Arabia apologize for disaster near Mecca". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Tehran: Mina crush was 'beyond human control'". Arab News. 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  15. ^ Hubbard, Ben (25 September 2015). "Hajj Tragedy Inflames Schisms During a Pilgrimage Designed for Unity". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  16. ^ Black, Ian; Weaver, Matthew (25 September 2015). "Iran blames Saudi leaders for hajj disaster as investigation begins". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  17. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (24 September 2015). "How the deadly hajj stampede feeds into old Middle East rivalries". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Naar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Siddique, Haroon (24 September 2015). "Mecca: hajj crush kills hundreds near holy city–as it happened". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.


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