1990 Mecca Tunnel Tragedy
On July 3, 1990, a total of 1,426 people were suffocated and trampled in a tunnel near Mecca during the annual Muslim pilgrimage known as the Hajj. There is a tunnel called Al-Ma’aisim that is specifically used as a pedestrian walkway leading out of Mecca, heading towards Mina. Thousands of people were walking towards the Stoning of the Devil ritual, which was supposed to begin at 10AM. Unfortunately, a pedestrian bridge was bent, and many people started to fall off, landing on top of people exiting the tunnel. People began to panic when they saw people falling from the sky, and the tunnel filled up with over 5,000 people when the maximum capacity is just 1,000 people. This caused people to suffocate and become crushed. After the event, King Fahd declared that the event was “God’s will, which is above everything”.