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 | | From: | Louisiana Lou | | Subject: | 3 Haj Pilgrims die in 'stoning devil' ritual | | Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:38:14 -0600 |
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 | Pilgrims die in 'stoning devil' ritual
From correspondents in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
January 24, 2005 From: Agence France-Presse
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12031982-23109,00.html
THREE Muslim pilgrims were killed and 500 others suffered light injuries
as they jostled to perform the "stoning of the devil" ritual near Mecca,
Saudi newspapers reported today.
The crush was triggered by the arrival of "a large number of African
pilgrims carrying their personal belongings" at the site of the stoning
in Mina called the "jamarat", the daily Okaz said.
The paper quoted Saudi Health Minister Hamad bin Abdullah al-Mane as
saying that a number of pilgrims also fell down as a result of the
scramble to stone three concrete blocks symbolising the devil.
The flow of pilgrims was interrupted for 10 minutes in order to clear
the path, Okaz said.
The ritual is the ultimate, but also most perilous, of the annual hajj,
triggering stampedes which have left hundreds dead in past years,
including 251 in 2004.
The Saudi government has spent $US28 million ($36.95 million) on
modernising the holy site to make it easier for the faithful to throw
their pebbles at the "jamarat" and on installing extra cameras to allow
the heavy flow to be monitored.
Three pillars symbolising Satan have been replaced by 25-metre-high
walls which stones can hit more easily, and the concrete enclosure of
the site has been coated with rubber.
Okaz said two more pilgrims died and 196 others suffered fractures when
they fell down during rare heavy rains in the Mecca region, which partly
flooded pilgrims' camps in Mina and caused huge traffic jams.
Rescue teams backed by civil defence aircraft evacuated some camps
threatened by floods, said an interior ministry spokesman cited by the
official SPA news agency.
He did not mention casualties.
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| | From: | pete | | Subject: | Re: 3 Haj Pilgrims die in 'stoning devil' ritual | | Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2005 23:29:06 +0000 |
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| On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:38:14 -0600, Louisiana Lou
wrote:
>Pilgrims die in 'stoning devil' ritual
>
Allah's will, no doubt; what else could it be?
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