“We were at the entrance to the bridge. There was a huge number of people on the bridge and an even greater number marching behind us towards the bridge. We suddenly started to see people in front turning back, running towards us, while people behind were still pushing forward. We were caught in the middle. My two daughters were in front of me. We tried to turn back. That is the last time I saw my daughters alive. The crush was so great I could not turn my head.

“I saw my husband struggling to put our five-year-old son on his shoulders. He succeeded and then people reached for the boy and he was handed over the heads of the crowd to safety. I thought that both my daughters were behind me. Then some young men carried me over a fence. I looked back and saw my two daughters, Duaa and Miad, on the ground. People were trampling over their bodies. I could not do anything to save them. We searched the local hospitals for them. I found Miad (aged 20) on the pavement outside the Numan Hospital. I have not found Duaa (16).”

THAIR JUBAIL, 38, unemployed:

“My brother and I went with two neighbours in a group. We were on the bridge when the whole thing started. My brother Amin, 36, was one metre ahead. I saw him fall. I tried to carry him but the force of the crowd prevented me. I was forced away by the crush.

“That’s when I realised I had lost my brother. I passed out and was carried to safety. They gave me some water and took me to the Sunni mosque (Abu Khanifa). They told me the bodies had been taken to the hospital. I found him on the pavement outside the hospital. I have still not found my two neighbours.”

SAIF NAZAR, 24, rescue worker:

“We were at the bridge giving out water to the pilgrims. There was no fighting. The tragedy happened because of poor security by the police. They put concrete blocks on the bridge and only let people through after being thoroughly searched. There were thousands of people and it was a slow process. More people pushed from the back. Most of the dead were old men and women. I saw people throwing themselves over the bridge to escape but they could not swim. Dead bodies were floating down the river. Others were trampled to death. My team rescued about 50 casualties and took away 100 bodies. That was just my team.”

IMAD ABOUD, 27, security guard:

“The reason this happened was the concrete barriers blocking the progress of the crowd. We knew something was wrong when we started to hear shouts and screams from women and children. They were crying, ‘Save us, we are suffocating, please save us’. Then I saw people stepping on top of each other and saw blood pouring from the mouths and noses of those being trampled. By the end the bodies were piled up about a metre and half. The most shocking sight was two children about 9 and 10. They had been crushed to death and were still holding hands. I saw a woman with a baby in her arms. Both were killed.”

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