300 people injured in stampede at a religious exhibition in Dagestan

A total of 300 people turned for medical aid Thursday after a stampede that occurred in a queue to enter an exhibition of relics related to Prophet Mohammed in Makhachkala, the capital of the North Caucasian region of Dagestan, the press service of the regional Interior Ministry said. “There had been no accidents at the exhibition until Thursday, despite long queues to enter the exhibition hall,” a spokesman for the ministry said. “As a result of the stampede, about 300 people requested medical aid and one person was admitted to hospital.” Meanwhile, Dagestan’s Interior Ministry has refuted injury reports. “There was no stampede per se at the Prophet Mohammed exhibition; people were asking for medical assistance due to long wait and the heat,” a Ministry spokesperson said.   An airplane from Abu Dhabi with Prophet Mohammed relics has landed in Makhachkala airport on August 25. Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Dagestan said that among the relics are everyday possessions of the prophet as well as the robe he was buried in. The exhibition is to be held for five days, said Abusupyan Kharkharov, Deputy Prime Minister of Dagestan, during his meeting with Sheikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al-Hazrati who leads the escort of the relics.