Muslims returned to the plains around Mecca on Thursday for the final stages of their annual pilgrimage, marred by a fire that killed at least 343 people. Officials said a new fire broke out Thursday but was extinguished within a half-hour.
Civil defense authorities said the fire was in the same encampment on the outskirts of Mecca. There were no reports of casualties, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Saudi officials say at least 343 people were killed in Tuesday's blaze. Nearly 1,300 were injured, many critically, and the death toll was expected to rise.
Thursday's fire occurred to the west of the site devastated two days earlier, but authorities would not say which nationalities were housed there.
Few of the 2 million pilgrims were in the camp. Most had not yet returned from Mecca, where they stopped to perform rites after praying on Mount Arafat. Others were seeking news of friends and relatives missing in Tuesday's fire.
"I should have nothing but Allah on my mind, but how can I forget my wife? I haven't seen her for three days," said Qadr-Dan Mohammed, one of dozens of Pakistanis lined up in front of his country's hajj mission.
He said he hadn't eaten or slept since he was separated from his wife during Tuesday's fire, believed to have been caused by one of the small gas cooking stoves used by many of the pilgrims.
Driven by high wind, Tuesday's blaze tore through the overcrowded encampment of canvas tents, devastating an area housing Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Many of the victims were crushed by people fleeing.
On Wednesday, the hajj went forward, with the pilgrims praying at Mount Arafat, which overlooks the plains of Mina. Thursday they headed back to Mina for the Feast of Sacrifice or Eid al-Adha, which lasts three days.