2006 Hajj stampede

It consists of a series of rites including the Stoning of the Devil (Arabic: رمي الجمرات ramī aj-jamarāt, lit.

[7] The stampede occurred at Jamarat Bridge, during an event where stones are thrown by pilgrims to three pillars representing the devil to purge themselves of sin.

[7] Casualties include multiple nationalities, with Chinese, Moroccans, Afghans, Ethiopians, Bangladeshis, Algerians, Saudis, Jordanians, Yemenis, Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians, Turks, Sudanese, Maldivians, Egyptians, Indians, Omanis, Pakistanis, Nigerians, Palestinians and nationals from Germany, Belgium, Chad and Ghana.

[8] "Everybody was pushing from behind to get through and suddenly police blocked the entrance and people started falling on each other", said Mohammed al-Farra.

Saudi interior ministry spokesman, Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki, told the BBC's Newshour programme that the dangers would only increase if crowd controls were tightened further.

[15] These infrastructure improvements were not accompanied by adequate signage telling pilgrims which direction to travel, a problem given that most Hajjis have never visited before.

[12][18][17] Calls continued to be made for better disaster planning long after the 2006 crush, with suggestions to make pilgrims aware of that the stoning ritual can take place at various times[14] as well as training on basic preventive measures for infectious diseases and outbreaks[19] and how to stay safe in large crowds.

Because of heavy congestion, shared accommodation, air pollution, compromised hygiene and heat, the transmission of infectious diseases is high.

[23][12] The expected extreme heat and humidity is going to exceed the danger threshold by 20% between the years 2045 and 2053 creating an even more challenging Hajj.