Makkah: At least 717 pilgrims including 14 indians died while another 863 were wounded in a stampede during the stoning of Satan at Mina, the Saudi civil defence said on Thursday.
Indian consulate officials in Jeddah have so far confirmed 14 Indians deaths in the tragedy.
List of Indians injured in the incident
This the second-worst tragedy to occur in 25 years during the world's holiest Muslim pilgrimage.
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.
The incident happened, on Street 204 of the camp city at Mina where pilgrims stay for several days during the climax of the Hajj.
It has traditionally been the most dangerous day of Hajj because vast numbers of pilgrims attempt to perform rituals at the same time in a single location.
Street 204 is one of the two main arteries leading through the camp at Mina to Jamarat, where pilgrims ritually stone the devil by hurling pebbles at three large pillars.
Around two million people perform the annual haj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia's al-Ekhbariya television reported.
Rescue operations were under way, 4000 personnel are handling the incident and more than 220 ambulances are under use for the victims, Saudi Arabia's civil defence service said on Twitter.
The Saudi government has arranged foolproof safety and security measures, deploying nearly 100,000 men in uniform at the holy sites to make the journey of a lifetime for the two million pilgrims safe and secure.
Saudi officials said a total of 13,74,206 foreign pilgrims have arrived for Haj this year.
"Our Mission in Jeddah continuously monitoring situation in Makkah following tragic stampede. No confirmed Indian casualties at this point of time," MEA spokesperson VIkas Swarup said in a tweet
On Sept. 11, a crane mishap in Grand Mosque in Makkah killed at least 111 people and injured more than 390. Authorities blamed the crane collapse on high winds during an unusually powerful storm.
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