I Was Pinned Down For Many Hour - Hajj Stampede Survivor Narrates Ordeal

Hamza Musa Kabir from Kano in northern Nigeria survived the massive stampede at the hajj by shedding his pilgrim’s garment after he was pinned under a man in the crush, which killed 769 people.

Reflecting on the shocking events that unfolded on Thursday in Saudi Arabia, the 55-year-old tall, thin trader told his dramatic story to AFP’s Kano correspondent Aminu Abubakar, who also performed the pilgrimage:

“We set off at sunrise from Muzdalifah and marched towards the Jamarat,” the place in Mina where pilgrims ritually stone the devil, Kabir recounted. 

“We were more than halfway through the procession when the road was blocked by the police, which led to buildup (of pilgrims). 

“Then the police blocked all the roads, leaving us with only one route. The situation became worse when the police allowed people returning from the Jamarat to use the same route back to their tents” where the pilgrims stay. 

“From where I stood, I could see a police officer on a raised platform at a nearby control post beckoning at pilgrims returning that they should move on. 

“Because those returning were moving in the opposite (direction) of the surging crowd, there was a stampede. 

“People became weak from suffocation and heat. People couldn’t breathe (in the crush). Many collapsed, mostly women and the old and disabled on wheelchairs. 

“I also was pinned down by this huge man I believe to be an Asian. I had to strip myself of my shroud which had become an obstacle to my escape. 

“I raised my hand and grabbed the shroud of another pilgrim from Nigeria who was already standing on a fence. He couldn’t pull me up because I was pinned down by this huge man.”