Karbala: At least 31 people have been killed and another 100 people injured in a stampede during commemorations on the day of Ashura in the Iraqi city of Karbala.
According to a health ministry spokesman, the death toll could rise. BBC reported that the stampede occurred when a pilgrim stumbled while hundreds of thousands were performing a ritual.
Every year, millions of Shia Muslim pilgrims travel to Karbala for Ashura, which falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar, to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
According to sources, as hundreds of thousands of people undertook the Tuwairij run one person tripped and fell over, causing others to fall and triggering the deadly stampede. “Tuwairij run” is a ritual in which pilgrims run down streets leading to the Imam Hussein Mosque in commemoration of the run from the ancient village of Tuwairij to Karbala that was undertaken during the battle.
According to another report, the stampede began when a walkway collapsed.