Iranian Survivor Slams Saudi Arabia over Mina Disaster

TEHRAN (IQNA) – An Iranian pilgrim who survived the recent crush outside the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia blasted Saudi officials for their slow and inadequate response to the emergency situation.

“It took the rescue workers two hours or more to arrive at the scene,” he told Press TV on Friday, adding, “The rescue workers, who were just a few, started collecting dead bodies instead of taking care of the injured.”

In the meantime, “the people themselves, mostly Iranians, helped each other,” the survivor said.

“I mean there was nobody to help us. A number of Iranian pilgrims climbed up the fence and threw water bottles for others. Some people on the ground attended to those who were injured, the children, and the elderly. We repeated doing these things for two hours until they (first responders) arrived,” he said.

The incident occurred in Mina, near Makkah, at 9 am local time (0600 GMT) on Thursday after two large masses of pilgrims fused together.

Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization says the tragic incident claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people, including 131 Iranians. Saudi officials, however, put the death toll at 717.