LATEST SAUDI STAMPEDE RESULTS IN 719 DEATHS

Another year, another case of people getting crushed underfoot in a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, for which the Saudi regime blames only the victims:

The toll in Saudi Arabia’s Hajj stampede is set to rise from the 719 confirmed dead, amid deepening recriminations between the desert kingdom that hosts Islam’s defining pilgrimage and its regional arch-foe, Iran.

Two heaving columns of ­worshippers engaged in their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca converged at a narrow intersect­ion on Thursday, causing the deadly crush.

Dust and searing heat compounded the confusion when panic set in, with people suffocated and trampled underfoot. Bloodied bodies still lay on the street 10 hours after the crowd dispersed, confronting video footage shows.

Saudi attempts to gloss over a troubled safety history of the Hajj and blame the dead for the disaster were brushed aside by Iranian ­officials, who pointed to shoddy organisation.

At least 131 Iranian pilgrims were among those killed. Another 863 people were injured in the stampede, many of them seriously, overwhelming medical services and creating expectations that the death toll would increase.

Interesting, isn't it, that this chaos has gotten Saudi Arabia into a clash with Iran, which is no better. But they're never willing to place any blame on the Religion of Peace that led to much of this disrespect for one another in Mecca, and stirred all the infighting. Don't expect Saudi Arabia to make any improvements in safety there either.