Naseer Ahmed Ansari has led Haj expeditions for 21 years, but says he has never seen a tragedy like yesterday’s stampede; he said the incident had left pilgrims in a state of panic and had disturbed the sacred mood of Haj
As a Haj tour operator, Naseer Ahmed Ansari has been to Mecca 21 times, but never before had he seen such chaos as there was during Thursday’s stampede.
Millions of people head to Mecca every year for the Haj pilgrimage, where strict schedules and routes are maintained to ensure that too many people don’t crowd together at a time. It was a break in this careful scheduling that led to yesterday’s stampede that killed at least 717 pilgrims.
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This is the second tragedy to strike this fortnight, after a crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque at Mecca on September 11, killing over 100 Hajjis. Speaking to mid-day from Mecca, Naseer, who works with Jogeshwari-based Asia Tours and Travels, said that it was sheer chance that he and the 98 Hajjis he was leading did not get stuck in the stampede.
Fortunately, Naseer and his group were in a later time slot, which kept them away from the worst of the chaos. “We were in our tents, which are located around half-a-kilometre from the Jamat. There are five floors leading up to it, and the stampede had started on the first level.
Even while it was taking place, everything was under control on the ground floor and we only found out about the severity of the stampede later,” said Naseer, who resides in Andheri. “Our group was large, and if we had been scheduled for the stone pelting at the same time as the stampede, it could have been a major tragedy.
Apart from Mumbaikars, our group has people from all over India, and some from Dubai and Singapore as well,” he said. “I have never seen such a disaster in my 21 Haj trips,” said Naseer, adding that the entire city had slipped into a state of panic, and the sacred mood of the pilgrimage had been destroyed.
Also read: Over 717 killed, 863 hurt in stampede during haj in Saudi Arabia
“All we hear the entire day is ambulance sirens. Police and military vehicles have been making rounds of the city. The situation at the Jamat is now under control. Those who are injured or those who have lost their loved ones are now following up with the authorities,” he told this paper.
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