"Some present in the area at the time said security forces had temporarily closed exits from an area packed with pilgrims, causing the crowding that led to the stampede," New York Times said.
According to the paper, Khalid Saleh, a Saudi government employee who rushed to the site when he heard screams and sirens, said he had found “huge numbers of people on the ground either dying or injured.” Pilgrims there told him that some of the area’s exits had been closed so that V.I.P. cars could pass, he said.
The head of Iran’s hajj organization, Said Ohadi, said two paths near the site of the accident had been closed for “unknown reasons.”
“This caused the tragic incident,” he told Iranian state television. “Saudi officials should be held accountable.”
"It was the deadliest accident during the hajj pilgrimage in a quarter-century, with at least 717 pilgrims from around the world killed and more than 850 injured. And it posed yet another challenge for the country’s new leader, King Salman, who is already coping with low oil prices, a war in Yemen and an increasingly fierce rivalry with Iran," New York Times said.
At least 131 Iranians were among the dead. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei blamed “misconduct and improper acts” by Saudi officials and declared three days of public mourning.
almanar.com.lb
26/9/15
--
-
Related:
--
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Iran vows to sue Saudi rulers over hajj disaster...
ReplyDeleteIran's state prosecutor says he will pursue legal action against Saudi Arabia's rulers in international courts over the crush of pilgrims at this year's hajj, which killed more than 700 people, including 136 Iranians.
Ebrahim Raisi, speaking on state TV Saturday, called the disaster "a crime" subject to prosecution. He said Saudi authorities blocked a road used by hajj pilgrims to allow a royal convoy to pass through, causing the deadly convergence of two waves of pilgrims going in opposite directions.
At least 719 pilgrims suffocated or were trampled to death. Iranians comprise the largest group of casualties identified so far.
Iranian state TV says Ghazanfar Roknabadi, a former ambassador to Lebanon, as well as two Iranian state TV reporters and a prominent political analyst are among those still missing.
Associated Press
26/9/15