Though Saudi Arabia officials claim that every year they take strict precautions during the annual Haj pilgrimage to avert accidents, thousands have died in stampedes, fires, freak accidents and violence over the years. While about 717 pilgrims were killed in a stampede on 24 September, 2015 and over 800 suffered injuries, 346 pilgrims lost their lives in the year 2006. In a similar incident 251 pilgrims died on the final day of Haj in 2004. One of the biggest stampedes took place in the year 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims were killed due to a stampede in a tunnel in Mina.
Credit: KBK
