More than 700 confirmed dead in Hajj stampede
Thursday, 25 Sep, 2015
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The death toll has risen to more than 700 caused by a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
At least 717 died with more than 800 pilgrims injured authorities said late Thursday.
It has been described as the worst Hajj tragedy for 25 years and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has called for a full investigation.
According to a Twitter announcement from officials in Saudi Arabia, the stampede happened as more than a million pilgrims were taking part in the last major rite of the Hajj near the Islamic holy city of Mecca.
The crush occurred during the ritual known as ‘stoning the devil’ in the tent city of Mina, about two miles from Mecca.
Mina has more than 160,000 tents for pilgrims to spend the night during the pilgrimage.
After the stampede more than 200 rescue vehicles and 4,000 members of the emergency services responded.
In 2006, a stampede during the same ceremony killed nearly 400 people, but it has been largely incident free since Saudi authorities implemented safety improvements.
Earlier this month, over 100 people were killed when a crane collapsed at the Holy Mosque.
Three million people travel to Saudi Arabia’s holy cities for the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage annually.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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