How did the Meron stampede happen?

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asked Mar 25, 2022 in Polls/Surveys by Ponytail (940 points)
How did the Meron stampede happen?

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answered Mar 26, 2022 by Wendell (41,840 points)
The Meron Stampede happened due to overcrowding and it's also still being investigated.

On 30 April 2021, at about 00:50 IDT, a deadly crowd crush occurred in Meron, Israel, during the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, at which it was estimated that 100,000 people were in attendance.

The Meron Stampede and crowd crush occurred after celebrants poured out of one section of the mountainside compound, down a passageway with a sloping metal floor wet with spilled drinks, leading to a staircase continuing down.

Witnesses say that people tripped and slipped near the top of the stairs.

A crush stampede is when a crowd of people moves in the same direction at the same time, some may collide and pile up against or on top of each other.

This can get very dangerous very quickly.

Experts refer to such an incident as a stampede, crowd surge, or crowd crush.

If you get caught in a stampede you should do the following.

Stay on your feet.
Conserve energy – don't push against the crowd and don't yell or scream.
Use sign language to communicate with those around you (point, wave, even use your eyes)
Keep your hands up by your chest, like a boxer – it allows you movement and protects your chest.

While you might think most injuries and deaths in such incidents are cause by trampling, a lack of oxygen is often to blame.

The crush of the crowd pushes against your chest and makes it hard to breathe, leading to what's called compressive asphyxia.

It can also cause head and neck injuries.

Crushes often occur during religious pilgrimages and large entertainment events, as they tend to involve dense crowds, with people closely surrounded on all sides.

Human stampedes and crushes also occur as people try to get away from a perceived danger, as in a case where a noxious gas was released in crowded premises.

On 24 September 2015, an event described as a "crush and stampede" caused deaths estimated at well over 2,000 people, suffocated or crushed during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history.

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