No Chechen pilgrims suffered in mass stampede in Mecca

In Saudi Arabia, only residents of the Middle East were killed and injured in the mass stampede of Hajj pilgrims. This was reported by the Spokesman of the Muftiyat of Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 24, the mass stampede occurred near Mecca at the passage from the tent city in the valley of Mina near a station of the monorail metro, which carried pilgrims to the holy places.

The stampede killed 717 people and injured at least 863. According to Khalid Falih, Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia, the tragedy was caused by the pilgrims' failure to comply with the schedule of the religious ritual set by the organizers, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

According to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Chechnya, no pilgrims from Chechnya or other Russia regions suffered in the incident.

The death toll in the incident in Saudi Arabia has provoked a strong concern in Chechnya among relatives of the Muslims on the Hajj pilgrimage.

According to Zaindi, a resident of Grozny, who made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2014, there are special tunnels to the valley of Mina from the centre of Mecca.

"Tens of thousands of pilgrims are simultaneously walking through the tunnel, and if someone falls, this mass of people cannot stop, even if they want to stop," the resident of Grozny has said.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.