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AP count: Over 2,400 killed in Saudi hajj stampede, crush

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, file photo taken with a slow shutter speed, Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The September stampede during the hajj in Saudi Arabia killed over 2,400 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom even months later. The AP figures establish the Sept. 24 crush at Mina as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. It occurred just weeks after a fatal crane collapse at Mecca. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, file photo taken with a slow shutter speed, Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The September stampede during the hajj in Saudi Arabia killed over 2,400 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom even months later. The AP figures establish the Sept. 24 crush at Mina as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. It occurred just weeks after a fatal crane collapse at Mecca. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File) FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, file photo taken with a slow shutter speed, Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The September stampede during the hajj in Saudi Arabia killed over 2,400 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom even months later. The AP figures establish the Sept. 24 crush at Mina as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. It occurred just weeks after a fatal crane collapse at Mecca. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The September stampede during the hajj in Saudi Arabia killed at least 2,411 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom three months later.

The AP figures establish the Sept. 24 crush at Mina as the deadliest in the history of the annual pilgrimage. It occurred just weeks after a fatal crane collapse in Mecca.

Saudi Arabia rebuffed criticism from its regional Shiite rival Iran and efforts by other countries to join a probe into the deaths. And while King Salman ordered an investigation into the tragedy almost immediately, few details have been made public since.

The AP count is based on state media reports and officials’ comments from 36 of the over 180 countries that sent citizens to the hajj. Hundreds of pilgrims remain missing. The official Saudi toll of 769 people killed has not changed since Sept. 26, and officials there have yet to address the discrepancy.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency has not mentioned the investigation into the disaster since Oct. 19, when it reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also the kingdom’s interior minister, was “reassured on the progress of the investigations.” The crown prince is the next in line to the throne and any blame cast on the Interior Ministry, which oversees safety during the hajj, could reflect negatively on him.