Cause Gas explosion Date 16 April 1997 Location Mecca, Saudi Arabia Injuries 1,300 | Buildings
destroyed 70,000 tents Date 15 April 1997 Fatalities 300 | |
The Mecca fire of 1997 was a fire that occurred in the tent city near Mecca in Saudi Arabia 16 April 1997, killing between 217 and 300 people.
Details
The fire erupted in the overcrowded tent city, Mina, where an estimated two million Muslim pilgrims were gathered on for the first day of the Hajj, the ritualistic pilgrimage to Mecca. The fire erupted shortly before noon, and was caused by exploding canisters of cooking gas, according to witnesses. The fire was fanned by winds of nearly 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents. Officially, 1,290 were injured and 217 killed, though witnesses and local newspapers claimed at least 300 were killed, many trampled in the panic. Later official reports gave a death toll of 343, no official list of fatalities has been published. Opposition sources claimed over 2,000 deaths had occurred, many from trampling. The fire was fought by three hundred fire engines as well as helicopters, and controlled in three hours.