Death toll rises to 769 in Hajj stampede in Mina

The death toll in a crush at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, has risen to 769, where some two million people are performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The Saudi Arabia government published the update list of the stampede victims on Saturday. At least 934 others were injured in the stampede, which took place on Street 204 of the camp city at Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, where pilgrims stay for several days during the climax of the Hajj. The worst disaster to befall the Islamic event in a quarter of a century occurred on Thursday as two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers outside the holy city. That is an increase of 52 on the previous figures,” Saudi health minister Khalid al-Falih told a news conference. Shi`ite Muslim Iran, which is locked in a series of proxy wars in Arab countries around the Sunni Muslim kingdom, says that at least 136 Iranians are among the dead, sparking protests and outrage in the Islamic Republic on Friday. Over 300 other Iranians remain unaccounted for, including former ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, news agencies reported. “We will urge international courts and circles to start the trial of the Saudis for their crimes against haj pilgrims,” Iran`s Prosecutor General Ebrahim Raisi was quoted as saying by student news agency ISNA on Saturday Protecting the visitors to mosques at the holy cities of Mecca and Medina is a key pillar of legitimacy for the Saudi royal family, and the king has the title of “custodian of the two shrines.” Speaking to the country`s crown prince Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, top Saudi cleric Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh said he did not hold authorities responsible for the disaster. “You are not responsible for what happened. You dealt with the beneficial factors that were in your hands and within your ability. As for the things that humans cannot control, you cannot blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable,” Al al-Sheikh, known as the Grand Mufti, said in a televised statement. Safety during Haj is a politically sensitive issue for the kingdom`s ruling Al Saud dynasty, which presents itself internationally as the guardians of orthodox Islam and custodians of its holiest places in Mecca and Medina. The government of Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars upgrading and expanding Haj infrastructure and crowd control technology in recent years, and the last big deadly incident took place in 2006 when at least 346 pilgrims died in a stampede. Street 204 is one of the two main arteries leading through the camp at Mina to Jamarat, where pilgrims ritually stone the devil by hurling pebbles at three large pillars. Jamarat was also the site of the 2006 disaster and several other past ones. An Arab pilgrim who did not want to give his name said he had hoped to perform the stoning ritual later on Thursday afternoon but was now too frightened to risk doing so.–Agency