At least 244 Muslim pilgrims die in stampede

MINA, Saudi Arabia -- At least 244 Muslim pilgrims were crushed to death and 272 injured in a stampede during a devil-stoning ritual yesterday at the climax of the annual hajj pilgrimage.

Panic spread rapidly as many of the 2 million white-robed pilgrims, chanting "God is greatest," surged toward the Jamarat Bridge in Mena to throw stones at pillars representing the devil.

The ritual on Eid al-Adha, or Day of Sacrifice, has triggered stampedes in the past, and authorities said they had tried to avert disaster this year by urging people to perform the ceremony at different times.

"There were more than 400 meters of people pushing in the same direction, [which] resulted in the collapse of those next to the stoning area and those behind; that led to panic," Iyad bin Amin Madani, the pilgrimage affairs and endowments minister, told reporters.

A Saudi security official said the dead were mostly Indonesians, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis, but included Arabs and other nationalities. He gave no breakdown.

A preliminary count showed 13 Egyptians were among the dead, an Egyptian official said. Four South Africans have been reported missing.

The pilgrims continued their rituals, largely unfazed by the disaster.

Many Muslims believe that death during the hajj, one of the most striking manifestations of faith and unity in the world, is a gift from God that cleanses them of sin.

"Praise be to God -- If you die on the hajj, you are considered a martyr," said Elhamy Osman, an Egyptian.

Another 272 pilgrims have died of natural causes during the hajj, which all able-bodied Muslims must perform once in a lifetime if they can afford it.

Traffic between Mena and Mecca had nearly ground to a halt in the evening, as some pilgrims headed for the Kaaba, a structure at Mecca's Grand Mosque to which Muslims throughout the world turn when they pray.

Others flowed back to Mena for more stoning at the pillar, which Muslims believe marks the spot where the devil appeared to the biblical patriarch Abraham.

Deadly stampedes have occurred during the hajj almost every year. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in a pedestrian tunnel at Mecca.

Last year 14 people were trampled to death. In 2001, 35 people died in a stampede at the bridge, and 119 were killed in 1998.

"The organization was excellent . . . and it was a big shock when I heard about what happened," said Ali Abdou, a Yemeni, of the stampede yesterday.

The pilgrimage also has been the scene of armed uprisings and bombings. Saudi authorities took massive security precautions this year, deploying thousands of troops to guard against attacks by the Al Qaeda terrorist network, blamed for bombings in the kingdom and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the United States.

A recent statement purported to be from Al Qaeda pledged to "rid the Arab peninsula of infidels."

Saudi security forces arrested seven suspects recently, saying they were planning a "terrorist act."

In his Eid al-Adha sermon, the imam of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Sudeis, urged Muslims to reject violence.

"Islam seeks moderation," he told pilgrims in Mecca. "Those who deviate from moderation and try to incite Muslims against their rulers are seeking discord and anarchy through destruction, terrorism, bombings, and the shedding of the blood of Muslims and those under the protection of the state."

The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at God's command, according to the Koran.