A Nigerian pilgrim, Hamza Musa Kabir who was caught in the stampede that killed 769 people in Mecca but escaped death, has said that he held on to another pilgrim’s testicles to survive the stampede.
The 55-year-old survivor, a trader and an indigene of Kano told international news agency, AFP, in Saudi about his near-death experience on Thursday.
He said, “We set off at sunrise from Muzdalifah and marched towards the Jamarat,
“We were more than halfway through the procession when the road was blocked by the police, which led to buildup (of pilgrims).
“Then the police blocked all the roads, leaving us with only one route. The situation became worse when the police allowed people returning from the Jamarat to use the same route back to their tents.
“From where I stood, I could see a police officer on a raised platform at a nearby control post beckoning at pilgrims returning that they should move on.
“Because those returning were moving in the opposite (direction) of the surging crowd, there was a stampede.
“People became weak from suffocation and heat. People couldn’t breathe (in the crush). Many collapsed, mostly women and the old and disabled on wheelchairs.
“I also was pinned down by this huge man I believe to be an Asian. I had to strip myself of my shroud which had become an obstacle to my escape.
“I raised my hand and grabbed the shroud of another pilgrim from Nigeria who was already standing on a fence. He couldn’t pull me up because I was pinned down by this huge man.
“In an act of desperation, i grabbed the man’s testicles “and squeezed them which made him jump off me.
“This enabled me to use my other hand to reach for the metal bar of the fence, and grabbed it. I then pulled myself up with the help of another young Arab man who was standing on the fence.
“I was so dizzy and weak and too weak to walk. I was spread on the floor and another pilgrim, seeing that I had regained consciousness, offered me his other shroud.
“People offered me drink and some food. I then realised that I had been bitten (on) the side, by a young man from underneath.
“I spent, like, two hours sitting down recuperating.
“After that, I was assisted by another pilgrim from Niger to make it to the Jamarat and carry out the stoning rites.
“What I saw on my return to the scene of the stampede frightened me, because I just saw countless bodies lying on the floor covered in white shrouds, and I knew I could have been one of them.”
