Tragedy in the pedestrian tunnel in Mecca

The tragedy in the pedestrian al-Ma'aishim tunnel in Mecca ( Arab.حادثة نفق المعيصم ) occurred on Monday , July 2, 1990 (8 zul-hija in 1410 and Hijra ) in a pedestrian tunnel connecting Mecca and the tent city of Muslim pilgrims in Mina . According to official figures, 1426 people died. Most of the dead were from Southeast Asia ^[1] . This was the largest mass tragedy in 20 years related to the Hajj .

The al-Ma'aisim tunnel, about 500 m long, was opened in 1979 ^[2] as part of the program of the Saudi authorities to streamline pilgrimage flows ^[3] . It was equipped with ventilation systems and could accommodate up to 1000 people at a time.

On July 2, at 45-degree heat, a huge mass of pilgrims rushed into the tunnel from the direction of Mecca. Eyewitnesses reported that the flow of people suddenly stopped in the middle of the tunnel, while the number of people inside increased to 5,000; ^[3] in addition, there was a stop of ventilation systems ^[1] . Many died or lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen , in addition, there was a crush .

Officials of Saudi Arabia did not name the number of dead more than 18 hours. The first reports talked about a hundred dead, the final number was 1,426, unofficial sources suggested significantly larger numbers ^[2] . King Fahd said that the dead are martyrs , as they died during the Hajj, and that this tragedy should not be blamed on the country supplying pilgrims with everything necessary ^[4] . Following the results of the disaster, measures were taken which, however, did not help to avoid the victims and victims who performed the haj in the following years ^[5] .