Hasnain says:

"The crush has been described as a stampede, but most victims in such crowd disasters are actually crushed, not trampled, by pressures that are strong enough to bend steel fences.

In a crush, the flow of the crowd slips beyond the control of the individuals in it. Waves of pressure ripple through, lifting people off the ground, sometimes carrying them more than 10 feet.

The main cause of death in a crowd crush is asphyxiation. People can be squeezed so tightly that they suffocate standing in place."

"Pakistan, a close ally of Saudi Arabia and large recipient of Saudi aid, has played down the Pakistani death toll and warned the local news media to avoid criticizing hajj management."

Posted on 2016-09-06T18:56:57+0000