My God – Over 800 people were killed – mostly women – children- and elderly. Circulating rumours like that is like yelling fire inside a crowded building and having only one door open. When is this going to stop?
(08-31) 16:11 PDT BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) –
Panicked by rumors of a suicide bomber, thousands of Shiite pilgrims broke into a stampede on a bridge during a religious procession Wednesday, crushing one another or plunging 30 feet into the muddy Tigris river. About 800 died, mostly women and children, officials said.
Hundreds of lost sandals littered the two-lane bridge while children floundered in the waters below, trying to reach dry land. The tragedy was the single biggest loss of life known in Iraq since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
“We heard that a suicide attacker was among the crowd,” said Fadhel Ali, 28, barefoot and soaking wet on the riverbank. “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.”
The crowd was on edge because of the 110-degree heat, a mortar barrage near the Shiite shrine where they were headed and the ever-present fear of suicide bombers, etched into memories after repeated attacks against large religious gatherings. Seven people died in the mortar barrage three hours before the stampede, the U.S. military said.
This is only part of the story – just pray…
