What happened July 2 1990 in Mecca?
During the Hajj on July 3, 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death and smothered in a tunnel close to Mecca. The event took place inside the Al-Ma’aisim tunnel, a 550-meter (1800-foot) long by 10-meter (35-foot) broad pedestrian passageway that extends from Mecca to Mina and the Plains of Arafat. The Saudi government had begun…
During the Hajj on July 3, 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death and smothered in a tunnel close to Mecca.
The event took place inside the Al-Ma’aisim tunnel, a 550-meter (1800-foot) long by 10-meter (35-foot) broad pedestrian passageway that extends from Mecca to Mina and the Plains of Arafat. The Saudi government had begun building on the tunnel as part of a $15 billion project surrounding the holy sites in Mecca two years prior.
What happened July 2 1990 in Mecca?
At 10:00 a.m., pilgrims were on their way to perform the Stoning of the Devil ritual when a pedestrian bridge railing was destroyed, causing seven people to fall from the bridge and onto people entering the tunnel. The 1,000-person capacity of the tunnel was immediately exceeded by up to 5,000 people.
With outside temperatures of 44 °C / 112 °F, a breakdown of the tunnel’s ventilation system was also responsible for many of the deaths. Some witnesses claimed to have seen a protest, while others said that power to the tunnel had been cut off. Saudi officials decided that the fallen pilgrims triggered a mass panic.
Many of the dead were of Indonesian, Malaysian, and Pakistani ancestry. According to a Malaysian source, 285 persons, or 80% of the casualties, died outside the tunnel.
