43 Iranians Killed, over 60 Injured in Hajj Stampede

Thu Sep 24, 2015 15:35:45

As many as 41 Iranians were killed and more than 60 others were injured in Hajj stampede in Mena on Thursday.

Head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi said on Thursday that the injured are in an acute condition.

Ohadi said the routes leading to the point for stoning are still blocked, making it difficult for the relief aid workers to rush aid to the victims.

He said that bodies of a large number of the victims are still on the ground and the relief aid workers are in efforts to collect and transfer them. 'The precise number of those killed or injured will be announced in the next hours,' he added.

The Hajj stampede in Mena killed more than 453 Hajj pilgrims and more than 700 others injured, IRNA reports.

Ohadi said the bitter incident is caused by failure of the Saudi security organs to manage the rituals.

He added that the Saudi officials had blocked two ways leading to the stoning point, thus causing the large crowd of the pilgrims.

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