1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy
On July 3, 1990, 1,426 people died in a crowd crush inside a 550-meter-long pedestrian tunnel near Mecca during the Hajj. The tunnel, Al-Ma'aisim, leads from Mecca toward Mina and the Plains of Arafat and was part of a large modernization project around Mecca's holy sites.
At about 10:00 a.m., during the Stoning of the Devil ritual, a railing on a pedestrian bridge bent, sending seven people onto those exiting the tunnel. The tunnel’s capacity was about 1,000, but as many as 5,000 were inside. Outside temperatures reached about 44°C (111°F), and a ventilation failure was blamed for many deaths.
Some witnesses thought a demonstration was taking place; others said the tunnel’s power had been turned off. Saudi officials said crowd hysteria after the fall of pilgrims caused the deaths.
Most victims were Indonesian, Malaysian, and Pakistani; among the dead was Turkish literature professor Âmil Çelebioğlu. A Malaysian account noted that about 80% of deaths occurred outside the tunnel and 20% inside (roughly 285). Indonesian casualties were about 680. Iran expressed concern, and Turkey filed a brief complaint. Calls for an international investigation were rejected by Saudi Arabia.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:40 (CET).