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Floods toll 77 while pilgrims gather
Source: Agencies |
November 27, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MUSLIM pilgrims holding white umbrellas against the blazing sun clambered up a rocky desert hill for prayers yesterday during the annual hajj, after a day of torrential rains that killed at least 77 people.
Flooding from the unusually heavy downpours hit hardest in the Red Sea coastal city of Jiddah, about 60 kilometers from the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and its surrounding sacred sites where the 3 million Muslims from around the world were performing the rites of the pilgrimage.
Most of the deaths were in Jiddah, where streets were swamped with water, some houses collapsed and mudslides took place, and in areas around the main highway to Mecca, authorities said.
It did not immediately appear that any pilgrims were among the dead. A spokesman said 21 of the victims were identified as Saudis and the rest were believed to be residents of Saudi Arabia.
Flooding from the unusually heavy downpours hit hardest in the Red Sea coastal city of Jiddah, about 60 kilometers from the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and its surrounding sacred sites where the 3 million Muslims from around the world were performing the rites of the pilgrimage.
Most of the deaths were in Jiddah, where streets were swamped with water, some houses collapsed and mudslides took place, and in areas around the main highway to Mecca, authorities said.
It did not immediately appear that any pilgrims were among the dead. A spokesman said 21 of the victims were identified as Saudis and the rest were believed to be residents of Saudi Arabia.
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