MAKKAH - The Jamarat Bridge, which is the highest accident-prone area, has been divided into three zones for the safety and smooth flow of pilgrims. Disclosing the Jamarat operational and monitoring plan, Commander of the Forces of Jamarat Bridge Colonel Salim Bin Mohammed Al-Madh'ab told Saudi Gazette/Okaz that first zone comprises the special area for the arrival of pilgrims, the second zone consists of the upper and lower floors of the three Jamarats, and the third is for the entry of pilgrims from the western part of Makkah.
Each of these zones will be closely monitored, he said.
He said authorities have put in place three-pronged Jamarat plan: the first is preventive, the second is operational, and the third and last is contingency plan to be applied in case of emergency.
Security forces deployed for Jamarat operations have been trained to deal with any emergency, especially the evacuation of injured pilgrims, Colonel Salim said.
He said the new Jamarat Bridge has been designed in a way to ease the flow of pilgrims and reduce overcrowding.
Security forces will be fully deployed during the peak hours throughout Tashreeq days.
Movement of pilgrims will be monitored from the command and control room.
Some three million people use the bridge. On the last day of the Haj, many pilgrims bring their luggage, risking their and others' lives.
On May 23, 1994, a stampede killed 270 pilgrims. At least 118 pilgrims were trampled to death and 180 injured in 1998. In 2001, 35 pilgrims were killed in a stampede. In 2003, the stoning ritual claimed 14 lives. In 2004, 251 pilgrims were killed and another 244 injured in a stampede. In 2006, a stampede killed at least 346 pilgrims and injured at least 289 more.
Following the 2004 incident, Saudi authorities embarked on major expansion work in and around the Jamarat bridge area. Additional entry points, footbridges, and emergency exits were built, and the three cylindrical pillars were replaced with longer and taller oblong walls of concrete to enable more pilgrims simultaneous access.
Nearly 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom, Saudi authorities announced Thursday.
By Wednesday, 1,467,515 people from around the world had arrived, the Saudi Press Agency quoted the Haj Central Commission as saying.
Nearly 2.4 million people flocked to Saudi Arabia to perform the last Haj, including more than 1.6 million from outside the Kingdom.
The annual pilgrimage, which also attracts hundreds of thousands of Saudis as well as foreigners resident in the Kingdom, begins on Monday, the eighth day of the month of Dhu Al-Hijja.
Saudi Arabia has announced that the high point of the Haj, when pilgrims ascend to Arafat, would take place on Tuesday, and that Eid Al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice marking the end of the pilgrimage, would be celebrated the next day.
Majid Al-Mifdhali
© The Saudi Gazette 2007
