(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Saudi Arabia deployed large numbers of special forces yesterday as pilgrims performed the final rituals of a Haj marred by double tragedy, with the death toll from a stampede rising to 769.
Health Minister Khaled al-Falih announced the new figure, an increase from the previous toll of 717.
The number hurt rose to 934 from 863 recorded just after the deadliest incident in a quarter-century to strike the annual pilgrimage.
Dozens of special emergency force personnel were seen on one level of Jamarat Bridge, a five-storey structure in Mina where pilgrims ritually stone the devil, and on which hundreds of thousands were converging when Thursday's stampede occurred nearby.
Many more patrolled the network of roads leading to the structure.
The interior ministry has said it assigned 100,000 police to secure the Haj and manage crowds.
The disaster was the second deadly accident to mar the Haj. A massive construction crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque in Makkah days before the pilgrimage, killing 109 people.
Undeterred yesterday, pilgrims in Mina still flooded the area to perform the stoning for a third time, on the last day of the Haj which this year drew about 2mn people.
They also stood in prayer.
Most pilgrims began leaving yesterday, returning to Makkah where they circumambulate the Kaaba before going home.
Traffic was hardly moving as crowded cars and buses jammed the route, with some pilgrims on the roofs of their buses.
"We are thankful to our brothers in Saudi Arabia for this effort," Abdullah Ali, a 38-year-old Emirati said in Mina. He blamed other pilgrims for the stampede and urged more awareness.
"As you can see, people come from different backgrounds. They are affected by their cultures."
Abdullah al-Sheikh, chairman of the Shura Council, which advises the government, stressed that pilgrims must stick to "the rules and regulations taken by the security personnel".
That echoed comments on Friday by Health Minister Falih, who faulted the worshippers for the tragedy, saying that if "the pilgrims had followed instructions, this type of accident could have been avoided".
Saudi Arabia's top religious leader, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, told Crown Prince Mohamed bin Nayef that the incident was beyond human control.
"You are not responsible for what happened", SPA quoted Sheikh as telling him.
"Fate and destiny are inevitable."
The prince chairs the Saudi Haj committee and has ordered an investigation into the stampede.
King Salman also ordered "a revision" of how the Haj is organised.
Authorities have yet to provide a breakdown of the nationalities of pilgrims killed in the stampede, as the difficult process of identification continues.
But several countries, largely African and Asian, have announced deaths.
Only around 250 deaths in total have been officially confirmed by foreign officials.
Interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki said "a large number of pilgrims were in motion at the same time" at an intersection in Mina.
"The great heat and fatigue of the pilgrims contributed to the large number of victims," he said.
For years, the Haj was marred by stampedes and fires, but it had been largely incident-free for nine years after safety improvements and billions of dollars worth of infrastructure investment.
The stoning bridge, erected in the past decade, has a capacity of 300,000 pilgrims an hour and was intended to improve safety after past disasters.
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