Mecca fire of 1997 were injured and 217 killed, though witnesses and local newspapers claimed at least 300 were killed, many trampled in the panic. Later official reports gave a death toll of 343, no official list of fatalities has been published. Opposition sources claimed over 2,000 deaths had occurred, many from trampling. The fire was fought by three hundred fire engines as well as helicopters, and controlled in three hours. Mecca fire of 1997 The Mecca fire of 1997 was a fire that occurred in the tent city near Mecca in Saudi Arabia 15 April 1997, killing between 217 and 300 people. The
Black mecca a reality that too many blacks weren't coming close to financial success, but rather "caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty, crime and homelessness". The city had among the highest crime rates in the nation, many inner-city blacks were unable to travel to jobs in the suburbs, and despite 20 years of black city leadership, the reality was that city officials were unable to solve these problems. Harlem in New York City was referred to as a black mecca during the 1920s and 1930s. In March 1925 the leading magazine "Survey Graphic" produced an issue entitled "Harlem: Mecca of