Over 700 pilgrims die in Saudi haj stampede

Mina, Saudi Arabia

AT least 717 pilgrims were killed on Thursday in a crush at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, where some two million people are performing the annual haj pilgrimage, Saudi authorities said.

More than 800 others were injured in the stampede, which took place on Street 204 of the camp city at Mina, a few kilometres east of Mecca, where pilgrims stay for several days during the climax of the haj.