On Wednesday, the yearly Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to start. The sacred event has seen a number of tragic events over the past ten years, from dangerous stampedes to violent attacks. Around 1,301 pilgrims died last year, the majority of them unregulated, as the mercury reached a record high of 51.8°C, leaving several without access to air-conditioned tents and buses.
Stampedes
Stampedes have been a drama that has happened frequently during Hajj. The most fatal accident occurred in Mina, near Mecca, in 2015, when about 2,300 worshipers perished during the” beheading of the dragon” tradition. More than 100 people were killed only two weeks prior when a building crane fell onto Mecca’s Grand Mosque due to strong winds. In Mecca’s town center in 2006, a motel collapsed, killing 76 individuals, followed immediately by a panic that claimed the lives of 364 travelers. In addition to the tragedies of 1994, which included a panic that claimed the lives of 270 individuals, and a crisis in which 1, 426 people died as a result of a malfunctioning air system in a pipe at Mina, Seven travelers presumably fell from a bridge, and the majority of the victims were Eastern.
Terrible attacks
One person was killed and 16 people were hurt in mini blasts outside the Grand Mosque on July 10, 1989. 16 Kuwaiti Shia were found guilty and put to death in the wake of the problems. Another significant event occurred on November 20, 1979 when attackers demanded the capitulation of the Saudi royal family by holding hostages dozens of pilgrims.
Protests
Over 400 people were killed, including 275 Egyptian pilgrims, in an unauthorised demonstration on July 31, 1987, in a dangerous rally.
Fires
A gas burner explosion in Mina, one of the worst fireplace incidents, resulted in a blaze that left 343 people dead and 1,500 injured. More than 200 people died in 1975 from a gasoline canister explosion close to a pilgrimage site near Mecca. More than a million Muslim travellers have travelled to Mecca for the Hajj this season. Officials have increased their procedures in response to forecasts that will rise above 40°C. 250, 000 people from 40 government organizations have been stationed to regulate the heat and protect pilgrims.
