iStock/Thinkstock(MECCA, Saudi Arabia) — Hajj pilgrims will get e-bracelets this year as a safety precaution following last year’s deadly stampede.
The waterproof e-bracelets will provide vital information such as passport numbers and addresses, according to a BBC report citing the Saudi Press Agency. Worshipers will also be able to access information such as the timings of prayers and reach a multilingual help desk for non-Arabic speakers making the journey, according to the report.
Taking part in the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is a major religious duty. It’s expected all able-bodied Muslims with the financial means take part in the six-day ritual at least once in a lifetime.
More than 700 people were crushed and trampled to death last year in a stampede in Mina, located on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca. More than 160,000 tents were located in Mina last year, which is also the location where pilgrims throw pebbles and stones at the walls in a symbolic act of stoning of the devil.
In 2006, more than 360 were killed in a stampede in the same area, and another one occurred in 2004, leaving 244 dead and hundreds injured.
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