One of survivors of a horrible tragedy that
happened at Muna Camp, a few kilometres away from the holy city of
Makkah in Saudi Arabia, has narrated his shocking experience.
Speaking with the Nation, Magaji Falalu Zarewa, a pilgrim from Kano
state, said that he saw how helpless pilgrims died but could not do
anything as he was struggling for his own life.
“I stepped on dead bodies to escape to a safer place to stay and recover. Lifeless bodies of pilgrims became steps to escape routes,” he said.
Zarewa, who is asthmatic, revealed that he miraculously escaped death during Mecca stampede, adding that his Ventolin Inhaler saved him from death.
Zarewa, who is a student of the Islamic University of Madina, Saudi Arabia, said he has been performing Hajj annually for the last 10 years.
How The Incident Started
“The incident occurred around few minutes after 9:00am local time. The problem started when a large crowd of people who had already stoned the Jamrat (devil) were returning through the route of people going towards the Jamarat from Muzdalifa. That caused obstruction of movement and generated heat. People started collapsing. That is the first cause of people’s death. There was no water around the area.
Major Cause Of Death
“Then, the major problem and what I call the major cause of death is nations whose tents are close to the scene of the stampede. Countries like Algeria and Morocco locked access roads to their tents. Because, when the heat was becoming unbearable, people wanted to enter the nearby camps to decongest the main road, get air and water to drink.
“So, people started climbing the tents. I also got a strategic pillar of the tent and climbed, then I started breathing better until people began to shake the tent and it finally collapsed on many of us. I didn’t know how I came out of the tent because people were still climbing on us. I just saw myself as people were pouring water on me.
How Zarewa Escaped Death
“When I recovered a little, I quickly grabbed my inhaler, because I am asthmatic and used it. Because I was still gasping for air. Then, the white tent was covered with blood and I watched helplessly as other pilgrims died.
“After I fully recovered, I saw a heap of dead bodies serving as steps for other people to escape. By then, rescue team had arrived, but they were no longer concerned about the dead bodies, they were only picking people with tendencies to survive.
Soldiers Were Helpless
“Then, I was telling the soldiers who were also trying to control the crowd that, the best they can do is to find a way of stopping pilgrims who have already performed the stoning of the devil from returning through the same route used by people who are going to the Jamrat. They told me, because I speak Arabic, that they were helpless.
“I told them can’t you people security agents, enter the camps of the nations around here and force them to open their gate, so that you can divert people to pass through their tents? And that was what they eventually did and people started entering. At that point, whether you like it or not, you must step on corpses to get out of the crowd.
Holding Water Was Like Holding Life
“Then, people started to look for water everywhere, if they see you with water, it was like you are holding life. In my presence, someone urinated and poured the urine on his own head just to get refreshed.
“Three Fulani women who followed us because they saw me and my friends as guides died in the stampede. Although I didn’t see their corpses, my friend said he saw one of them crying as people were stepping on her and she died in the process.”
Meanwhile, the government of Sokoto state has announced that 9 of its pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead in the Mecca stampede.
It would be recalled that 5 Nigerian pilgrims who are from Gombe state had been earlier declared missing in Saudi Arabia.
According to the recent reports, Justice Abdulkadir Jega, the brother of the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, also died in the stampede in Mecca.
Source: Naij
Magaji Falalu Zarewa
“I stepped on dead bodies to escape to a safer place to stay and recover. Lifeless bodies of pilgrims became steps to escape routes,” he said.
Zarewa, who is asthmatic, revealed that he miraculously escaped death during Mecca stampede, adding that his Ventolin Inhaler saved him from death.
Zarewa, who is a student of the Islamic University of Madina, Saudi Arabia, said he has been performing Hajj annually for the last 10 years.
How The Incident Started
“The incident occurred around few minutes after 9:00am local time. The problem started when a large crowd of people who had already stoned the Jamrat (devil) were returning through the route of people going towards the Jamarat from Muzdalifa. That caused obstruction of movement and generated heat. People started collapsing. That is the first cause of people’s death. There was no water around the area.
Major Cause Of Death
“Then, the major problem and what I call the major cause of death is nations whose tents are close to the scene of the stampede. Countries like Algeria and Morocco locked access roads to their tents. Because, when the heat was becoming unbearable, people wanted to enter the nearby camps to decongest the main road, get air and water to drink.
“So, people started climbing the tents. I also got a strategic pillar of the tent and climbed, then I started breathing better until people began to shake the tent and it finally collapsed on many of us. I didn’t know how I came out of the tent because people were still climbing on us. I just saw myself as people were pouring water on me.
How Zarewa Escaped Death
“When I recovered a little, I quickly grabbed my inhaler, because I am asthmatic and used it. Because I was still gasping for air. Then, the white tent was covered with blood and I watched helplessly as other pilgrims died.
“After I fully recovered, I saw a heap of dead bodies serving as steps for other people to escape. By then, rescue team had arrived, but they were no longer concerned about the dead bodies, they were only picking people with tendencies to survive.
Soldiers Were Helpless
“Then, I was telling the soldiers who were also trying to control the crowd that, the best they can do is to find a way of stopping pilgrims who have already performed the stoning of the devil from returning through the same route used by people who are going to the Jamrat. They told me, because I speak Arabic, that they were helpless.
“I told them can’t you people security agents, enter the camps of the nations around here and force them to open their gate, so that you can divert people to pass through their tents? And that was what they eventually did and people started entering. At that point, whether you like it or not, you must step on corpses to get out of the crowd.
Holding Water Was Like Holding Life
“Then, people started to look for water everywhere, if they see you with water, it was like you are holding life. In my presence, someone urinated and poured the urine on his own head just to get refreshed.
“Three Fulani women who followed us because they saw me and my friends as guides died in the stampede. Although I didn’t see their corpses, my friend said he saw one of them crying as people were stepping on her and she died in the process.”
Meanwhile, the government of Sokoto state has announced that 9 of its pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead in the Mecca stampede.
It would be recalled that 5 Nigerian pilgrims who are from Gombe state had been earlier declared missing in Saudi Arabia.
According to the recent reports, Justice Abdulkadir Jega, the brother of the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, also died in the stampede in Mecca.
Source: Naij
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