UN Chief 'Deeply Saddened' by Hajj Stampede
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is "deeply saddened" by the deaths of more than 1300 Hajj pilgrims in a huge stampede in Saudi Arabia.
"The secretary-general was deeply saddened to learn of the death of more than 700 (currently over 1300) Hajj pilgrims and of injuries to many others as a result of a deadly incident in the Mina Valley in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," ABC News quoted a spokesman for Ban as saying on Friday.
"This tragic incident is all the more distressing as it took place on the first day of the Holy Eid al-Adha marking the end of the annual Hajj season.”
Also, Pope Francis used his first public remarks since arriving in New York on Thursday to express solidarity with Muslims after the stampede.
"I want to express the closeness of the church in the face of the tragedy people suffered in Mecca," he said.
On Thursday, the pilgrims were killed in a crush at Mina, outside the holy city, where some two million Muslims are performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi media reported.
It came nearly two weeks after tens of Hajj pilgrims were killed in another tragic incident in Mecca.
Earlier, on September 11, a massive construction crane crashed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque in stormy weather, killing at least 107 people and injuring 201 others.
Saudi authorities have been blasted for their failure to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who converge on Mecca for Hajj every year.