Mecca Stampede Killing 717 Hajj Pilgrims Raises Questions On Saudi Safety

The Saudi Arabia authorities have come under sharp criticism after yesterday’s stampeded disaster outside holy city Mecca that killed more than 700 Muslim pilgrims.

People following Islam come to Mecca in the annual event and the current flow of visitors is 2 million. It is said if the government is unable to ensure safety of pilgrims, how it would tackle 10 years down the line when the number is expected to increase to 7 million.

Mecca-born executive director for the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, Irfan Alawi, showed concerns about security saying the 4,500 officials at Mecca are not highly trained in safety as well as health. They are also unable to speak any other language apart from Arabic and English. These have limited their ability in handling the huge international crowds.

He added further the authorities need to realize the crowd as World Cup organizer does to control those.

Meanwhile, the authorities say cause of the stampede in Mina, three miles from Mecca, was the movement of some pilgrims without following instructions by the authorities.

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