Religion Kills

AP Exclusive: Hajj crush was deadliest ever at pilgrimage:

One survivor of last month's crush and stampede at the hajj in Saudi Arabia recalled seeing so many bodies that he couldn't tell how many there were.

The Associated Press sought to answer that question, arriving at a death toll of at least 1,453. That made the Sept. 24 disaster the deadliest accident ever at the annual pilgrimage. And hundreds remain missing.

The AP count is 684 higher than Saudi Arabia's official tally of 769 killed and 934 injured in the Sept. 24 disaster in Mina, a few miles from the holy city of Mecca.
Saudi officials, who could not be immediately reached for comment Friday, previously have said their tally remains accurate, although an investigation into the causes of the tragedy is ongoing. Authorities have not updated their casualty toll since Sept. 26.

The previous deadliest-ever incident happened in 1990, when a stampede killed 1,426 people.

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims are supposed to do this at least once in their lifetimes.

If having God on your side means being trampled to death, I'm glad I'm an atheist.