Death Toll In Hajj Stampede Rises To 769

Prayers and protests have been staged amid mounting fury over the deaths of more than 700 worshippers during a stampede at the annual hajj pilgrimage.

The deaths of the Iranians ignited long-simmering anger Iran holds for Saudi Arabia over the authority the kingdom exerts over the hajj, especially after allegations in April that Saudi airport officials abused two male pilgrims from Iran.

Iran has strongly criticized archrival Saudi Arabia over the disaster, blaming the Saudi government for “incompetence” and “mismanagement” of the annual hajj – which draws about 2 million pilgrims per year from more than 180 countries.

King Salman, who ascended the throne in January, reportedly caused upset within Saudi ruling circles through some of his actions, and his early decision to bomb the Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen has sharpened antagonisms with Iran, with which Saudi Arabia’s relations have worsened of late, not least on account of Iran’s recent nuclear agreement with the West.

At least 136 Iranians were among the dead, and 340 remain missing.

The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different directions at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil. Iranian state media has said at least 131 pilgrims from the Islamic Republic were killed. That came after Saudi security forces killed more than 400 people, mostly Iranians, in a 1987 clash sparked by protesting Iranian pilgrims.

In Tehran on Friday, thousands of angry protesters Saudi Arabia’s rulers, chanting “death to the al-Saud family”. The pillars stand where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham.

Muslim pilgrims walk in a tunnel on their way to cast stones at… Large fans were also set up to spread mist.

Three Saudi officers from the emergency police force at Jamarat were seen attending to a pilgrim who appeared to have suffered from sunstroke.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York questioned whether the Saudi government could be trusted with the responsibility of overseeing the Haj.

He said that Saudi administration should be held accountable for the poor Hajj arguments.

“People were already dehydrated and fainting” before the stampede, said the pilgrim who declined to be named.

Saudi pilgrim Misfir al-Yami, 28, said the large crowds should be directed better to reach certain holy sites in smaller waves.

Madani “expressed hope that no party would seek to take advantage of the pilgrimage and pilgrims, and the incidents that might happen when these crowds of millions perform the same rituals at the same time, in a controversial context that would divide rather than unite”, he said in a statement.

“There’s so little time to complete the rituals”, she said.

The stampede is the second disaster to strike in two weeks, after a crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, killing 109 people, including 11 Indians. “I saw (news) about the accident that took place and it made us all very upset”.

The Saudi foreign minister, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, said that “we will reveal the facts when they emerge”. He called for the countries with the most victims to participate in the investigation to ensure that there is no cover-up by the Saudis.