Hajj stampede: Due to 'man's incompetence' not God's will

Mohammad Jafari, an advisor to a UK-based Hajj tour operator, said that the Saudi royalty is to blame for yesterday's stampede in which 717 are currently estimated to have died.

The Saudi health minister Khaled al-Falih said that worshipers had failed to obey instructions. He added that the stampede was 'God's will'.

Mr Jafari responded by saying that 'it is not God's will it is man's incompetence'. According the Mr Jafari, eyewitnesses the main reason for the incident was the emergence of bottlenecks, after two roads around Jamarat were closed for dignitaries visiting Mina.

'There should be a criminal investigation if the reason that 717 people lost their lives was because some royal wanted to throw stones,' he said.