abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1083227&page=1
Iraqi pilgrims walk past shoes lost during a stampede on Baghdad's Al A'e ma bridge August 31, 2005. More than 600 Iraqi Shi'ites died in a stampe de over a Tigris River bridge in Baghdad on Wednesday, panicked by rumor us a suicide bomber was about to blow himself up, an Interior Ministry s ource told Reuters. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani Reuters Reuters Aug 31, 2005 By Mariam Karouny BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Up to 1,000 Iraqi Shi'ites might have died in a stamp ede on a Tigris River bridge in Baghdad on Wednesday, panicked by rumors a suicide bomber was about to blow himself up, government officials tol d Reuters. Most victims were women and children who "died by drowning or being tramp led" after panic swept a throng of thousands as they headed to a religio us ceremony, an Interior Ministry official said.
Iraq Extended Coverage "An hour ago the death toll was 695 killed, but we expect it to hit 1,000 ," said Dr Jaseb Latif Ali, a general manager at Iraq's Health Ministry. Interior Minister Bayan Jabor and two top Shi'ite officials blamed insurg ents for the stampede, saying a terrorist spread a rumor there was a sui cide bomber in the crowd. Tensions are high among Iraq's rival religious and ethnic communities ahe ad of a referendum on a new constitution for the post-Saddam Hussein era . Television images showed people clambering down from the bridge to escape the surging crowd, and piles of slippers left behind by the crush of pe ople. Hysterical women knelt over corpses, wailing and praying. Ambulances rush ed to the scene and people carried bodies on stretchers while others lin ed the river banks and crowded the bridge. Scores of bodies were covered with whatever was around foil, clothes or plastic sheeting. One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12:30 (0830 GMT) . A hospital source said bodies were also being sent to two nearby hospi tals. SUICIDE BOMBER A police source said swarming crowds had been heading to the Kadhimiya mo sque in the old district of north Baghdad when someone shouted there was a suicide bomber among them. "Hundreds of people started running and some threw themselves off the bri dge into the river," the source said. "Many elderly died immediately as a result of the stampede but dozens dro wned, many bodies are still in the river and boats are working on pickin g them up."
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