Universal Dependencies - English - GUM

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Hundreds dead in Hajj stampede

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

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The Plains of Arafat on the day of Hajj

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According to the Saudi Interior Ministry over 345 Muslim pilgrims have been killed in a stampede during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

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The stampede at Islam's most holy site happened at Jamarat Bridge, during an event where pebbles are thrown at a pillar to represent the stoning of Satan as part of the final rites of the Hajj.

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The stampede began when luggage from a bus tripped pilgrims at the eastern end of the wall, causing a bottleneck.

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Those who were tripped were then crushed by the wave of people behind them.

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Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca during their lifetimes, if physically or financially possible, as it is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith.

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Saudi officials had already provided safeguards by installing an oval wall with padded edges to protect pilgrams from a crush, installed security cameras and placed over 60,000 security personnel in the area.

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This is not the first time deadly stampedes have taken place during the Hajj, with the deadliest stampede during the 1991 Hajj, in which 1,426 pilgrims were trampled.

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Last week, at least 76 people were killed when the Al-Ghaza Hotel near the Masjid Al-Haram (Grand Mosque) collasped, the cause of which is unknown.