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[h=4]Saudi officials: Over 700 dead in hajj pilgrimage stampede[/h]At least 100 people were killed and 390 injured in a crush Thursday during the Hajj pilgrimage outside Mecca, Saudi state television reports. Muslims around the world are currently marking Eid al-Adha, one of
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More than 450 people were killed and over 700 injured in a stampede Thursday during the annual hajj pilgrimage just outside Mecca, Saudi officials said. The civil defense directorate said teams were leading pilgrims to safety and that rescue operati USA TODAY
Muslim pilgrims gather around the victims of a stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015.(Photo: AP)
At least 717<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people were killed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a stampede<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Thursday during the annual hajj pilgrimage just outside<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mecca, Saudi officials<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said.
The civil defense directorate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said teams<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were leading pilgrims to safety and that rescue operations are continuing, Al Arabiya reported. Officials said around 4,000 rescue workers and 220 ambulances were sent to the scene.
The Saudi Arabia's civil defense directorate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said the incident happened<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Mina,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about three miles from Mecca —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Islam's holiest city<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and tweeted images of rescuers helping injured pilgrims lying on the ground.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>It said the dead are of different nationalities.
Stampedes have happened before in Mina, a valley where the <span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>symbolic “stoning of the devil”, the last major rite of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pilgrimage, occurs. Pilgrims sleep in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>160,000 tents there<span style="color: Red;">*</span>during the hajj.
The directorate said the crush happened in the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>morning as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pilgrims surged at an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>intersection of two streets,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as worshipers headed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>toward a multi-story structure<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>known as Jamarat Bridge — which is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>designed to ease the crowd<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pressure<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and prevent people<span style="color: Red;">*</span>from being trampled, the Associated Press reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>taking part in the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“stoning of the devil”, where pebbles are thrown<span style="color: Red;">*</span>against three stone columns,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Al Arabiya said. However Al Jazeera reported that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the stampede did not happen<span style="color: Red;">*</span>during the rite.
Some 2 million people from around the world<span style="color: Red;">*</span>are taking part in this year’s hajj pilgrimage, which started<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tuesday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Muslims around the world are currently marking Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's two most important holidays.
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Muslims from across the world poured into a sprawling tent city in the Saudi desert on Tuesday, on the first day of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage. (Sept. 22) AP
Earlier this month, at least 111<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people were killed and nearly 400<span style="color: Red;">*</span>injured<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when a crane collapsed into a section of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Saudi officials introduced safety improvements after<span style="color: Red;">*</span>nearly 350 people were killed in a stampede during the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pilgrimage in 2006.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The day before that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>hajj began,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at least 73 people died when<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an eight-story building<span style="color: Red;">*</span>near the Grand Mosque<span style="color: Red;">*</span>collapsed.
All able-bodied Muslims with the financial means<span style="color: Red;">*</span>are required to undertake the hajj,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said to be the largest mass gathering in the world and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>one of the five pillars of Islam, at least<span style="color: Red;">*</span>once in their lifetime.
USA TODAY
Scores dead in crane collapse in Mecca's Grand Mosque
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