and by God I am ... he creates creation, and I destroy them". About 30,000 pilgrims were killed. The bodies of the pilgrims were left to rot in the streets or were thrown down the Well of Zamzam. The Kaaba was looted, houses were plundered, and slaves seized. He removed the Black Stone and it was in his possession for 21 years. 1502: The Mira, a ship carrying Hajj-pilgrims returning from Mecca was set ablaze on the orders of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Around 300 pilgrims were killed. 1695: On 7 September, pirates led by Henry Every hijacked Grand Mughal vessels which were making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The pirates then subjected their captives to several days of horror, raping and murdering prisoners at will, and using torture to force them to reveal treasure. Some of the women committed suicide by jumping into the sea. 1757: The 1757 Hajj caravan raid was the plunder and massacre of the Hajj caravan of 1757 on its return to Damascus from Mecca by Bedouin tribesmen. An estimated 20,000 pilgrims were killed as a result of the raid. 1926: On 18 June 1926 Egyptian soldiers playing music while escorting the mahmal, were confronted by angry Najdis, who disliked the mahmal as an innovation and considered music un-Islamic. The Egyptians fired on them, killing 25. In 1986, a group of Iranian pilgrims were caught with C4 explosives in their bags. Later investigation sparked theories that the explosives were put there by Iranian authorities. 31 July 1987: A clash between Iranian demonstrators and Saudi security forces led to the deaths of more than 400 pilgrims and thousands injured. 9 July 1989: Two bombs exploded, killing one pilgrim and wounding another 16. The perpetrators were from Kuwait and most of them were later executed. Airplane crashes related to the Hajj 22 January 1973: A Royal Jordanian Boeing 707 crashed at Kano, Nigeria, killing 176 Hajj pilgrims returning from Mecca. 4 December 1974: Martinair Flight 138 crashed near Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing all 191 people aboard – 182 Indonesian hajj pilgrims bound for Mecca, and 9 crew members. 15 November 1978: Icelandic Airlines Loftleiðir HF Flight LL 001 crashed at Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 175 (mostly Indonesian) Muslim pilgrims returning from the Hajj and 8 crew members. 26 November 1979: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 had an in-flight fire and crashed after takeoff from the old