Saudi hajj stampede deadliest ever at pilgrimage

Mina-The crush and stampede last month outside of Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca killed at least 1,453 people during the hajj, a new tally showed on Friday to make it the deadliest event to ever strike the annual pilgrimage.
The Associated Press count is 684 higher than Saudi Arabia’s official tally of 769 killed and 934 injured in the Sept. 24 disaster in Mina.
Saudi officials, who could not be immediately reached for comment Friday, previously have said their tally remains accurate, though an investigation into the causes of the tragedy is ongoing. Authorities have not updated their casualty toll since Sept. 26, two days after the disaster.
The previous deadliest-ever incident happened in 1990, when a stampede killed 1,426 people.
The AP figure comes from statements and officials’ comments from 19 of the over 180 countries that sent citizens to the five-day annual pilgrimage.
Authorities have said the Sept. 24 crush and stampede occurred when two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road, causing hundreds of people to suffocate or be trampled to death. Iran says it had 465 pilgrims killed, while Egypt lost 148 and Indonesia 120.