Saudi Arabia stifled true death count in hajj stampede: 2,411

c. 2015 Religion News Service

(RNS) A horrific stampede in Mina in September actually killed at least 2,411 pilgrims, more than three times the number that Saudi Arabia, which controls safety at the Muslim pilgrimage site, has acknowledged, according to a new, independent death count by the Associated Press.

The wire service’s count, based on state media reports and officials’ comments from 36 of more than 180 countries that sent citizens to the hajj, makes the September 24 event the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage known as the hajj. Hundreds more remain missing.