DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — One survivor of last month’s crush and stampede at the hajj in Saudi Arabia recalled seeing so many bodies that he couldn’t tell how many there were.
The Associated Press sought to answer that question, arriving at a death toll of at least 1,470. That made the Sept. 24 disaster the deadliest accident ever at the annual pilgrimage. And hundreds remain missing.
The AP count is 701 higher than Saudi Arabia’s official tally of 769 killed and 934 injured in the Sept. 24 disaster in Mina, a few miles from the holy city of Mecca.
Saudi officials, who could not be immediately reached for comment Friday, previously have said their tally remains accurate, although an investigation into the causes of the tragedy is ongoing. Authorities have not updated their casualty toll since Sept. 26.
The hesitancy to acknowledge a higher toll may reflect the leadership’s reflex to clamp down on information as it struggles with multiple pressures. The kingdom is dealing with a war in Yemen, Russia’s entry into the Syrian conflict and low oil prices that are straining the budget — and the hajj tragedy is already opening it up to sharp criticism from opponents, particularly Iran.
The previous deadliest-ever incident at the annual hajj happened in 1990, when a stampede killed 1,426 people. Stampedes and crushes are a major danger at the hajj since it attracts more than 2 million pilgrims a year, all moving simultaneously in close quarters through a number of rituals over the course of five days.
The AP figure comes from statements and officials’ comments from 19 of the more than 180 countries that sent citizens to the five-day annual pilgrimage.
Authorities have said the crush and stampede occurred when two waves of pilgrims converged on a narrow road, causing hundreds of people to suffocate or be trampled to death.
Mohammed Awad of Sudan told the AP at the time that he and his 56-year-old father were separated in the pushing and shoving. The 36-year-old pilgrim later found him alive under at least 10 bodies.
Iran says it had 465 pilgrims killed, while Egypt lost 165 and Indonesia 120.
Others include India with 101, Nigeria with 99, Pakistan with 93, Mali with 70, Bangladesh with 63, Senegal with 54, Benin with 51, Cameroon with 42, Ethiopia with 31, Sudan with 30, Morocco with 27, Algeria with 25, Ghana with 12, Chad with 11, Kenya with eight and Turkey with three. Hundreds remain missing, according to these countries.
Any disaster at the five-day hajj, a pillar of Islamic faith, could be seen as a blow to the kingdom’s cherished stewardship of Islam’s holiest sites.
