A Saudi Arabian health ministry statement said 4,000 people died in the Hajj stampede—then disappeared

There's strange news coming — and being redacted — from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Heath about the death toll of Saturday's Hajj stampede in Mina.

As the baffling fatality numbers have shown, this is the worst disaster to strike Hajj since 1990. But just how those numbers are is a debate still raging days after the accident.

The ministry's Arabic website said Tuesday some 4,000 people have died in the crush. The announcement's since been wiped from the page, but not before people (including Al Bawaba) managed to capture a screen shot. See it below.



Here's the translation:

The Saudi Deputy Minister of Health Mohamed Aldowale stated that the ministry handed over a photo album with photos of 4,173 pilgrims who passed away in Mena accident, and the process of Identifying the bodies has started.

He also added that the big number of death was due to heat, suffocation and stampede, according to the report by the Minister of Health.

The primary statistics indicated 769 deaths however our final numbers have increased to 4173 deaths after the ministry received several more bodies yesterday.

Despite all the rumors and news in the media, the ministry would like to reconfirm that this site and its social media handles are the only reliable and formal sources for official statements.

With the official death count tallied by the Saudi government so far floating around 800, that's a miles-long discrepancy not lost on social media users. Here's what one said to Vice Minister of Heath Hamad al-Dhewalia's Twitter handle, with a screenshot of the ministry announcement attached.

http://www.albawaba.com/loop/saudi-arabian-health-ministry-statement-said-4000-people-died-hajj-stampede%E2%80%94then-disappeated-74

Na WA oo

Really wish i could give definition to this...it could always be avoided, but when some set of people are of the believe that a colour deserves preferential treatment than the other there will always be a ' collateral damage' SMH

Huurrr...

So even in Islam, colour has a definition.

I reserve my comments

so they can still lie in the holy land of mecca? nobody can tell me dat Nigeria is nt a great Nation.

Bros, edit that ur comment, cos I was about writing that.. see chancing abeg

buzquet:
so they can still lie in the holy land of mecca? nobody can tell me dat Nigeria is nt a great Nation.

.....And They forgot that "nothing is hidden under the sun"

Right in their temple, they were sent to their virgins and lied to cover it up.

You mean Saudi Arabia lied about the death toll? That's appalling!

That Prince and his securiry that closed off the roads which caused the stampede must be beheaded publicly according to the Islamic laws!