New bridge protects Muslims during ritual

MECCA, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- More than 2 million Muslims crossed new pedestrian bridges to perform one of the last ceremonies of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, officials said.

The ceremony, Jamarat, involves stoning three pillars -- a reenactment, according to Muslim tradition -- of Abraham stoning the devil in rejection of his temptations, CNN reported.

The stoning, which occurs two miles from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in the city of Mina was the scene of stampedes and numerous deaths in the 1980s and 1990s because pilgrims passed through a crowded bottleneck area to approach the small pillars.

This year, the Saudi government erected three large pillars and completed a $1.2 billion, five-story bridge nearby from which pilgrims can throw stones.

"It is an immense responsibility that we had to deal with. About 3 million pilgrims move in a small geographic area at the same time wanting to do the same ritual. So we have been preparing for this for years now," Col. Khakled Qarar Mohammadi, head of the emergency forces at Jamarat.