Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
More than 600 killed in Iraq stampede
Hundreds of people have died after a stampede triggered by rumours of a bomber among a massive Iraqi Shia crowd attending a religious ceremony at a shrine in Baghdad.
An Interior Ministry source said most of the casualties on Wednesday were women and children and most died by drowning or being trampled on.
He put the toll at 647, with 301 injured, as of 2.15 pm (1015 GMT).
A railing on the bridge collapsed sending crowds tumbling into the Tigris River.
Television pictures and reports said about one million pilgrims were heading to the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine in the city's heavily Shia al-Kadhimiya district on Wednesday to commemorate the death of imam Musa al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among the Shia.
There was confusion over what caused the railing to collapse, but police said there were unconfirmed rumours that the stampede may have been caused by someone in the crowd shouting that there was a bomber in the crowd.
"Dozens of pilgrims fell in the river Tigris as they panicked following rumours of the presence of two suicide bombers in the crowd, while they were crossing al-Aaimmah bridge near the mosque," a source said.
Iraq's Deputy Health Minister Jalil al-Shammari confirmed that hundreds had been killed.
One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12.30pm. The hospital source said bodies were being sent to two other nearby hospitals as well.
"We have lost count, we have hundreds and hundreds of dead
and injured," a Health Ministry official said.
"We can't tell how many are dead. Many bodies are still in
the river," the official added.
Mortar attack
Tensions were running high after a mortar and rocket attack more than two hours earlier killed at least seven people and injured at least 40 near the mosque.
A medical officer at Baghdad's al-Kadhimiya hospital said half of the wounded in the mortar attack were women.
US Apache helicopters fired on the attackers who launched the rockets, a US statement said.
Six other people were wounded in a separate attack when attackers opened fire on Shia pilgrims in Baghdad's al-Adhamiya neighbourhood, an Interior Ministry source said.
The Iraqi government declared a three-day mourning for the stampede and bridge collapse victims.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06.htm
At least 648 people were killed in a stampede on a bridge Wednesday when panic engulfed a Shiite religious procession amid rumors that a suicide bomber was about to attack, officials said. It appeared to be the single biggest loss of life in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
Scores jumped or were pushed to their deaths into the Tigris River, while others were crushed in the crowd. Most of the dead were women and children, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said.
Tensions already had been running high in the procession in Baghdad's heavily Shiite Kazamiyah district because of a mortar attack two hours earlier against the shrine where the marchers were heading. The shrine was about a mile from the bridge.
One survivor said panic ensued when a rumor spread that a suicide bomber was in the crowd.
Abdul-Rahman said 648 were killed and 322 injured. Most of the dead were women and children, he said. Survivors were rushed in ambulances and private cars to several hospitals and officials were scrambling to compile an accurate figure.
After the collapse, bare-chested men swam through the muddy river looking for bodies.
"We were on the bridge. It was so crowded. Thousands of people were surrounding me," said survivor Fadhel Ali, 28, barefoot and soaking wet after swimming in the river. "We heard that a suicide attacker was among the crowd. Everybody was yelling so I jumped from the bridge into the river, swam and reached the bank. I saw women, children and old men falling after me into the water."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml
Most victims were women and children who "died by drowning or being trampled" after panic swept a throng of thousands as they headed to a religious ceremony, the official said.
By 2:15 pm (1015 GMT) the death toll had risen to 647, with 301 injured, the official said.
Interior Minister Bayan Jabor and two top Shi'ite officials blamed insurgents for the stampede, saying a terrorist spread a rumor there was a suicide bomber in the crowd.
Tensions are high among
Iraq's rival religious and ethnic communities ahead of a referendum on a new constitution for the post-
Saddam Hussein era.
Television images showed people clambering down from the bridge to escape the surging crowd and piles of slippers left behind by the crush of people.
Hysterical women knelt over corpses, wailing and praying. Ambulances rushed to the scene and people carried bodies on stretchers while others lined the river banks and crowded the bridge.
Scores of bodies were covered with whatever was around -- foil, clothes or plastic sheeting.
One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12:30 (0830 GMT). A hospital source said bodies were also being sent to two nearby hospitals.
SUICIDE BOMBER
A police source said swarming crowds had been heading to the Kadhimiya mosque in the old district of north Baghdad when someone shouted there was a suicide bomber among them.
"Hundreds of people started running and some threw themselves off the bridge into the river," the source said.
"Many elderly died immediately as a result of the stampede but dozens drowned, many bodies are still in the river and boats are working on picking them up."
Earlier at least seven people were killed in three separate mortar attacks on the crowd heading to the mosque to celebrate the martyrdom of Musa Al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among Shi'ites.
Reuters Television showed a woman weeping over the body of her dead child in al-Nu'man hospital. Dozens of bodies were strewn across the floor.
The hospital was filled with the sounds of screaming and wailing as disconsolate men and women searched for, and found, loved ones.
Doctors and orderlies were treating many of the injured on the floor or on trolleys in corridors. A child lay unconscious on a stretcher, with an intravenous drip dangling from her arm.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari declared three days of mourning and President Jalal Talabani said in a statement that it was "a great tragedy which will leave a scar on our souls."
Explosions were heard across Baghdad on Wednesday morning.
A Reuters correspondent reported hearing six mortar rounds exploding near the main airport, although the U.S. military had no information of any attacks there.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050831/ts_nm/iraq_dc
More than 600 people have been killed in a stampede of Shia pilgrims in northern Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.
The incident happened on a bridge over the Tigris River as about one million Shias marched to a shrine for an annual religious festival.
Witnesses said panic spread because of rumours that suicide bombers were in the crowd. Many victims were crushed to death or fell in the river and drowned.
Earlier, mortar rounds had been fired into the crowd, killing 16 people.
About 36 others were injured when four mortar rounds landed close to the Kadhimiya mosque.
So far no group has said it carried out the attack.
It was clearly intended to foment sectarian tensions, the BBC's John Brain in Baghdad says.
Iraqis are preparing to vote on a proposed constitution for their country, with Shia and Sunnis sharply divided on its contents.
Wednesday is the last day the majority of Iraqis can register to vote in October's referendum.
Panic
Television pictures showed large crowds of Shia pilgrims heading towards the Kadhimiya mosque to mark the martyrdom of the 8th Century religious figure Imam Musa al-Kadhim.
During the crush, iron railings on the Aima bridge leading to the shrine gave way and hundreds of people fell into the water.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]The bridge links the staunchly Sunni area of Adhamiya on the east bank of the Tigris and the Shia area of Kadhimiya on the west bank.
Health officials said more than 640 deaths have been accounted for and there were more than 230 injured, but the number of fatalities could rise.
"We have lost count, we have hundreds and hundreds of dead and injured," a health ministry official told Reuters news agency.
"We can't tell how many are dead. Many bodies are still in the river."
Thousands rushed to the banks of the Tigris to search for survivors. Young men stripped off their shirts and waded into the muddy water to retrieve bodies floating downstream.
Mourning
The incident has caused the single biggest loss of Iraqi life since the US-led invasion in 2003.
As the number of dead and injured continued to rise, Baghdad's hospitals struggled to cope, with many bodies and injured people left lying in corridors and on pavements outside.
The government has declared three days of mourning, state-owned television reported, quoting a statement by Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
Shia pilgrims have often been attacked by Sunni extremists seeking to trigger civil war in Iraq.
In March 2004 suicide bombers killed about 180 people in simultaneous attacks in Kadhimiya and Karbala.
A spokesmen for Mr Jaafari said the panic had been deliberately caused by anti-US insurgents.
"It's an act of cowardice, the terrorists are resorting to tactics that are going beyond anyone could imagine just in order to spread panic," Bashar al-Nahar told the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4199618.stm
He put the toll at 647, with 301 injured, as of 2.15 pm (1015 GMT).
A railing on the bridge collapsed sending crowds tumbling into the Tigris River.
Television pictures and reports said about one million pilgrims were heading to the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine in the city's heavily Shia al-Kadhimiya district on Wednesday to commemorate the death of imam Musa al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among the Shia.
There was confusion over what caused the railing to collapse, but police said there were unconfirmed rumours that the stampede may have been caused by someone in the crowd shouting that there was a bomber in the crowd.
"Dozens of pilgrims fell in the river Tigris as they panicked following rumours of the presence of two suicide bombers in the crowd, while they were crossing al-Aaimmah bridge near the mosque," a source said.
Iraq's Deputy Health Minister Jalil al-Shammari confirmed that hundreds had been killed.
One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12.30pm. The hospital source said bodies were being sent to two other nearby hospitals as well.
"We have lost count, we have hundreds and hundreds of dead
and injured," a Health Ministry official said.
"We can't tell how many are dead. Many bodies are still in
the river," the official added.
Mortar attack
Tensions were running high after a mortar and rocket attack more than two hours earlier killed at least seven people and injured at least 40 near the mosque.
A medical officer at Baghdad's al-Kadhimiya hospital said half of the wounded in the mortar attack were women.
US Apache helicopters fired on the attackers who launched the rockets, a US statement said.
Six other people were wounded in a separate attack when attackers opened fire on Shia pilgrims in Baghdad's al-Adhamiya neighbourhood, an Interior Ministry source said.
The Iraqi government declared a three-day mourning for the stampede and bridge collapse victims.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06.htm
At least 648 people were killed in a stampede on a bridge Wednesday when panic engulfed a Shiite religious procession amid rumors that a suicide bomber was about to attack, officials said. It appeared to be the single biggest loss of life in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
Scores jumped or were pushed to their deaths into the Tigris River, while others were crushed in the crowd. Most of the dead were women and children, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said.
Tensions already had been running high in the procession in Baghdad's heavily Shiite Kazamiyah district because of a mortar attack two hours earlier against the shrine where the marchers were heading. The shrine was about a mile from the bridge.
One survivor said panic ensued when a rumor spread that a suicide bomber was in the crowd.
Abdul-Rahman said 648 were killed and 322 injured. Most of the dead were women and children, he said. Survivors were rushed in ambulances and private cars to several hospitals and officials were scrambling to compile an accurate figure.
After the collapse, bare-chested men swam through the muddy river looking for bodies.
"We were on the bridge. It was so crowded. Thousands of people were surrounding me," said survivor Fadhel Ali, 28, barefoot and soaking wet after swimming in the river. "We heard that a suicide attacker was among the crowd. Everybody was yelling so I jumped from the bridge into the river, swam and reached the bank. I saw women, children and old men falling after me into the water."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml
Most victims were women and children who "died by drowning or being trampled" after panic swept a throng of thousands as they headed to a religious ceremony, the official said.
By 2:15 pm (1015 GMT) the death toll had risen to 647, with 301 injured, the official said.
Interior Minister Bayan Jabor and two top Shi'ite officials blamed insurgents for the stampede, saying a terrorist spread a rumor there was a suicide bomber in the crowd.
Tensions are high among
Iraq's rival religious and ethnic communities ahead of a referendum on a new constitution for the post-
Saddam Hussein era.
Television images showed people clambering down from the bridge to escape the surging crowd and piles of slippers left behind by the crush of people.
Hysterical women knelt over corpses, wailing and praying. Ambulances rushed to the scene and people carried bodies on stretchers while others lined the river banks and crowded the bridge.
Scores of bodies were covered with whatever was around -- foil, clothes or plastic sheeting.
One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12:30 (0830 GMT). A hospital source said bodies were also being sent to two nearby hospitals.
SUICIDE BOMBER
A police source said swarming crowds had been heading to the Kadhimiya mosque in the old district of north Baghdad when someone shouted there was a suicide bomber among them.
"Hundreds of people started running and some threw themselves off the bridge into the river," the source said.
"Many elderly died immediately as a result of the stampede but dozens drowned, many bodies are still in the river and boats are working on picking them up."
Earlier at least seven people were killed in three separate mortar attacks on the crowd heading to the mosque to celebrate the martyrdom of Musa Al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among Shi'ites.
Reuters Television showed a woman weeping over the body of her dead child in al-Nu'man hospital. Dozens of bodies were strewn across the floor.
The hospital was filled with the sounds of screaming and wailing as disconsolate men and women searched for, and found, loved ones.
Doctors and orderlies were treating many of the injured on the floor or on trolleys in corridors. A child lay unconscious on a stretcher, with an intravenous drip dangling from her arm.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari declared three days of mourning and President Jalal Talabani said in a statement that it was "a great tragedy which will leave a scar on our souls."
Explosions were heard across Baghdad on Wednesday morning.
A Reuters correspondent reported hearing six mortar rounds exploding near the main airport, although the U.S. military had no information of any attacks there.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050831/ts_nm/iraq_dc
More than 600 people have been killed in a stampede of Shia pilgrims in northern Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.
The incident happened on a bridge over the Tigris River as about one million Shias marched to a shrine for an annual religious festival.
Witnesses said panic spread because of rumours that suicide bombers were in the crowd. Many victims were crushed to death or fell in the river and drowned.
Earlier, mortar rounds had been fired into the crowd, killing 16 people.
About 36 others were injured when four mortar rounds landed close to the Kadhimiya mosque.
So far no group has said it carried out the attack.
It was clearly intended to foment sectarian tensions, the BBC's John Brain in Baghdad says.
Iraqis are preparing to vote on a proposed constitution for their country, with Shia and Sunnis sharply divided on its contents.
Wednesday is the last day the majority of Iraqis can register to vote in October's referendum.
Panic
Television pictures showed large crowds of Shia pilgrims heading towards the Kadhimiya mosque to mark the martyrdom of the 8th Century religious figure Imam Musa al-Kadhim.
During the crush, iron railings on the Aima bridge leading to the shrine gave way and hundreds of people fell into the water.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]The bridge links the staunchly Sunni area of Adhamiya on the east bank of the Tigris and the Shia area of Kadhimiya on the west bank.
Health officials said more than 640 deaths have been accounted for and there were more than 230 injured, but the number of fatalities could rise.
"We have lost count, we have hundreds and hundreds of dead and injured," a health ministry official told Reuters news agency.
"We can't tell how many are dead. Many bodies are still in the river."
Thousands rushed to the banks of the Tigris to search for survivors. Young men stripped off their shirts and waded into the muddy water to retrieve bodies floating downstream.
Mourning
The incident has caused the single biggest loss of Iraqi life since the US-led invasion in 2003.
As the number of dead and injured continued to rise, Baghdad's hospitals struggled to cope, with many bodies and injured people left lying in corridors and on pavements outside.
The government has declared three days of mourning, state-owned television reported, quoting a statement by Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.
Shia pilgrims have often been attacked by Sunni extremists seeking to trigger civil war in Iraq.
In March 2004 suicide bombers killed about 180 people in simultaneous attacks in Kadhimiya and Karbala.
A spokesmen for Mr Jaafari said the panic had been deliberately caused by anti-US insurgents.
"It's an act of cowardice, the terrorists are resorting to tactics that are going beyond anyone could imagine just in order to spread panic," Bashar al-Nahar told the BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4199618.stm
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$70.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
"An hour ago the death toll was 695 killed, but we expect it to hit 1,000," Dr Jaseb Latif Ali told Reuters.
Earlier, an Interior Ministry official told Reuters most victims were women and children who "died by drowning or being trampled" after panic swept a throng of thousands as they headed to a religious ceremony, the official said.
By 2:15 pm (1015 GMT) the official death toll had risen to 647, with 301 injured, the official said.
Interior Minister Bayan Jabor and two top Shi'ite officials blamed insurgents for the stampede, saying a terrorist spread a rumor there was a suicide bomber in the crowd.
Tensions are high among Iraq's rival religious and ethnic communities ahead of a referendum on a new constitution for the post-Saddam Hussein era.
Television images showed people clambering down from the bridge to escape the surging crowd and piles of slippers left behind by the crush of people.
Hysterical women knelt over corpses, wailing and praying. Ambulances rushed to the scene and people carried bodies on stretchers while others lined the river banks and crowded the bridge.
Scores of bodies were covered with whatever was around -- foil, clothes or plastic sheeting.
One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12:30 (0830 GMT). A hospital source said bodies were also being sent to two nearby hospitals.
More
Tens of thousands of people were making their way across the bridge to join an annual ceremony venerating a Shiite saint at Baghdad’s Kadhimiyah mosque. Someone on the eastern side began shouting that a suicide bomber was among the crowd and the rumour triggered hysteria.
Two hours earlier, assailants claiming to be linked to Al Qaeda, which regards Shiite Muslims as heretics, had fired mortar rounds at the mosque, killing seven people.
Fearful of another attack, people attempted to flee the bridge in both directions, but were hemmed in by the crowd and security checkpoints at the bridge entrance designed to restrict entry to just one or two individuals. Iraqi government troops and police aggravated the panic by firing shots into the air. Thousands of people were trampled or pushed over the bridge railings to fall some 30 metres into the Tigris River below.
A young man told a Washington Post correspondent: “I saw an old woman who was completely panicked and crying throw herself from the bridge. I saw another man fall on the bricks on the shore and die immediately. I saw seven people who were brought dead near the end of the bridge, smothered.”
Another eyewitness told the Post: “Whoever was able to swim and knew how to swim survived. The people who didn’t know how died.”
Without providing any evidence, government spokesmen immediately blamed the deaths on “terrorists”. While the mortar attacks may have been the work of Islamic fanatics linked to Al Qaeda, it is unclear whether the stampede was deliberately provoked, and if so by whom. If it was premeditated, it played directly into the hands of the US and its allies, which are deeply concerned at the growing unity between Sunni and Shiite opponents of the occupation.
The majority of those who died were women, children and elderly people from Sadr City, the working class district of Baghdad controlled politically by the loyalists of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Over past weeks, an alliance had began to develop between the main Sunni organisations and Sadrist movement, based on mutual opposition to the draft constitution, which was ratified by the US-backed Iraqi government on Sunday and will be put to a referendum by October 15. (See: “Iraq’s draft constitution: a recipe for neo-colonial rule”)
Last Friday an estimated 100,000 people took part in demonstrations organised by the Sadrist movement in cities across Iraq to denounce the draft constitution as a pro-US document and a threat to the unity of Iraq. Rallies were held at the beginning of the week in major Sunni centres, hailing Sadr and other Shiite leaders who have spoken out against the constitution and calling for the unity of all Iraqis against the occupation. The main Sunni spokesman against the constitution, Salih al-Mutlaq, told Al Jazeerah on Monday: “We would like to cooperate with Moqtada al-Sadr and very soon we will start negotiations with him.”
Read More
http://wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/iraq-s02.shtml