At least 717 people have been killed in a stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence directorate said, as the death toll continued to rise.
The directorate said at least 863 other pilgrims were injured in Thursday’s stampede, which took place in Mina, on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca.
The injured have been evacuated to four different hospitals in the Mina region, according to a civil defence spokesman.
Mina is where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls. It also houses more than 160,000 tents where pilgrims spend the night during the pilgrimage.
Al Jazeera’s Basma Atassi, reporting from Mina, said the incident took place in a street between pilgrim camps.
“The street where it happened is named Street 204. This stampede did not happen at the site of the ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual, which was happening today.
“During and after the stampede the pilgrims continued to flock into Mina to perform the devil stoning ritual.”
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordered an investigation into the stampede at the hajj pilgrimage, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who chairs the Saudi hajj committee, ordered the probe during a meeting with senior officials responsible for the pilgrimage in Mina, where the stampede took place.
The findings of the investigation will be submitted to King Salman, “who will take appropriate measures” in response, the agency added.
Thursday’s tragedy comes on the heels of another one, in which 108 people were killed when a massive construction crane collapsed on Mecca’s Grand Mosque on September 11 as thousands were gathering for the hajj.
At the time, Nayef said the accident would not affect this year’s pilgrimage and that the safety of pilgrims was a “priority”.
Earlier Thursday, Health Minister Khaled al-Faleh promised that there would be a rapid and transparent investigation of the stampede, which he blamed on undisciplined pilgrims not following instructions. Agency report
