Hajj Stampede in Mina, 2015: Need for Intervention

Mass gatherings (MGs) occur for many different reasons including religious, social, cultural, political and sporting events. There are two types of spontaneous and organized MGs. The first one takes place when a population displaces due to natural disasters or conflicts, whereas the second one is seen in a preplanned program. Mass gatherings are associated with health risks of infectious disease outbreaks, noncommunicable diseases, injuries, terrorist attacks, stampedes, etc. (1). It has been estimated that 70% of human stampedes occur due to religious assemblages. Sports, entertainments, political demonstrations and celebrations are other causes. There are two types of stampede. The first type is a panic behavior of people who afraid of a detected threat, while the second type takes place when the rush is toward something seen as gratifying, such as when spectators poured into a stadium that was already full to over capacity. Stampedes mainly occur in developing countries and its mortality is eight-fold higher in developing compared to developed countries (2).