Stone THrowing THing at the Hajj in Saudi Arabia looks Dangerous

[JI7]

there are people throwing stones with a bunch of people in front of them.

what is the point of that anyways ?

[Recursion]

1. It's a symbolic stoning of Satan

AFAIK nobody has died from the rocks but there are usually some people crushed afterwards.

[trusty elf]

2. .....

[img][/img]

[Renew Deal]

3. Didn't 300 people die in that activity a few years ago?

Maybe they kept missing?

[Lucky Luciano]

4. I think it is usually just the stampedes that are so deadly.

[JCMach1]

5. Numerous deaths and stampedes over the years... they installed a moving walkway a few years back

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20121027140930

[JI7]

6. how do the stampedes happen anyways ?

is there some panic or is it just so many people who try to push to get ahead ?

[JCMach1]

7. It is so jammed up... was almost in a situation like that on an escalator in Dubai

on New Years a few years back...

When a crowd gets that big, anything can set them off...

[jmowreader]

8. There are over 2 million people there...

...and there doesn't seem to be a direct Arabic translation for the phrase "crowd control." Hundreds of people get killed at Hajj every year, most from getting crushed by the crowds they draw.

[tblue37]

9. Some who were trapped in this stampede said two exits were temporarily blocked by

security, blocking the flow and leading to overcrowding, a crush, and panic. Some witnesses said the exits were blocked to allow VIP cars to use the road. Frankly, that sounds very plausible to me.