SHAFAQNA-
Over the past four decades, there have been numerous deadly incidents in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj pilgrimage. Here is a look at some of these fatal incidents.
2015
24 September: According to Saudi sources, more than 2,000 pilgrims are killed and hundreds of others injured in a crush in Mina near the holy city of Mecca on their way to cast stones at Jamarat pillars.
11 September: At least 109 pilgrims are killed and 400 others injured in a crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Mecca
2006
12 January: 364 pilgrims are killed in a crush in Mina, where pilgrims cast stones at Jamarat pillars.
6 January: 76 people die when a hotel collapses in the city center.
2004
1 February: 251 pilgrims lose their lives in a crush on the first day of casting stones in Jamarat in Mina.
2003
11 February: 14 pilgrims, including six women, are killed on the first day of casting stones in Mina.
2001
5 March: 35 pilgrims are killed and many others injured in stone-throwing ceremony in Mina.
1998
9 April: A crush during Jamarat stone-throwing ceremony kills more than 118 pilgrims and injures 180 others.
1997
15 April: 343 pilgrims are killed and 1,500 others are injured in a fire of tents in Mina.
1994
24 May: 270 pilgrims are killed in an overcrowding during the stoning ritual in Mina.
1990
2 July: 1,426 pilgrims are killed in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel in Mina due to a failure of the tunnel’s ventilation system. Many of those who died were Asians.
1989
10 July: An attack on entrances of the Grand Mosque in Mecca kills one pilgrim and injures 16 others. On September 21, 16 Shia Kuwaitis were executed over carrying out the attack.
1987
31 July: Amid the West’s pressure on Iran to break the Islamic Republic’sresistance against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was backed by Saudi Arabia and the US allies in its invasion of Iran, Saudi security forces, backed by Saddam’s intelligence service, kill 402 pilgrims who were holding the “disavowal of pagans” ceremony. 275 of the slain pilgrims were Iranians.
1979
20 November: Hundreds of armed opponents of the Saudi regime hold a sit-in in the Grand Mosque in Mecca for two weeks, taking hostage dozens of pilgrims. On December 4, Saudi forces attack the opponents. According to official figures, 153 people lose their lives and 560 others are injured in the incident.
1975
December: A huge fire in the tents of pilgrims kills 200 people.