The fire erupted in the overcrowded tent city, Mina, where an estimated two million Muslim pilgrims were gathered on for the first day of the Hajj, the ritualistic pilgrimage to Mecca.

The fire was fanned by winds of nearly 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents.

[4][5] Less than an hour before the fire began, Saudi security forces had thrown up a cordon around the entire plain, closing it to new arrivals in an effort to prevent further crowding, witnesses said.

Television news reports showed trucks shooting powerful jets of water into the camp as black smoke filled the air.

Muslim pilgrims, dressed in white robes worn to show unity and modesty, could be seen in the television reports racing through the burning camp, some carrying stretchers.