MINA – Over three million pilgrims from 189 countries pelted Jamarat Al-Aqaba, the largest of three adjacent pillars, Friday amid tight security measures, said Maj. Gen. Khalid Al-Harbi, commander of emergency forces in Mina. “Pilgrims started to flock to Al-Jamarat building since 2:00 a.m. Friday morning,” said Al-Harbi. Once pilgrims had finished the stoning ritual, those on each floor were directed to take certain routes on the way out to avoid any stampede. More than 10,500 emergency forces officers were positioned in Al-Jamarat building to ensure the safety of pilgrims, Al-Harbi said. Authorities have built a five-level structure for the pelting ritual, allowing a smooth flow of pilgrims. The authorities have also organized the devil-stoning, setting specific times of the day for each group of pilgrims. However, at one of the Mashair Railway stations in Arafat 36 pilgrims were injured because of crowding. The Saudi Red Crescent Authority provided first aid to the pilgrims who suffered moderate to minor injuries at Arafat Station No.3, Gate 3. The Authority rushed 10 ground, five motorbike and one intensive care teams to the Arafat area. These were supported from other centers in Mina. Eighteen cases were treated at the scene of crowding while 18 others were taken to hospitals in Arafat. Brig. Abdul Rahman Al-Ogla, commander of security forces in charge of tunnels at the holy sites, said over 400 officers are working nonstop to ensure the safety of pilgrims who use the holy sites' tunnels. “If any emergency, God forbid, occurs, we'll evacuate the tunnels in 10 minutes and keep the emergency room posted on the situation on an hourly basis,” he said. Col. Salih Al-Ayed, director of public relations at the Civil Defense, said thousands of awareness kits have been distributed to pilgrims in nine languages. Each kit has pamphlets drawing the attention of pilgrims to the potential dangers they might face on a daily basis during the Haj season, he added. After the stoning, pilgrims came out of the state of Ihram. Men shaved or cut their hair while women trimmed the length of a finger-tip from one strand of hair. Pilgrims then changed back into normal clothing and those performing Haj Al-Qiran and Haj Al-Tamatt'u sacrificed animals. In the evening they headed to Makkah to perform the Tawaaf Al-Ifaadah. Meanwhile, the National Water Company has pumped over a million cubic meters of water into the water network of the holy sites, of which over 315,000 cubic meters had been consumed by Friday.
