Breaking News: 717 Killed In Saudi Arabia Hajji Stampede.

Some of the dead that were involve in the stampede.

At least 717 people taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage have been killed in a stampede near the Islamic holy city of Mecca, officials in

Saudi Arabia say.
Another 863 people were injured in the incident at Mina, which occurred as two million pilgrims were taking part in the Hajj's last major rite.
It is the deadliest incident to occur during the Hajj in 25 years.
Preparations for the Hajj were marred when a crane collapsed at Mecca's Grand Mosque this month, killing 109 people.

Pilgrims travel to Mina, a large valley about 5km (3 miles) from Mecca, during the Hajj to throw seven stones at pillars called Jamarat, which represent the devil.
The pillars stand at three spots where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham.

People were going towards the direction of throwing the stones while others were coming from the opposite direction. Then it became chaotic and suddenly people started going down.
There were people from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Senegal among other nationalities. People were just climbing on top of others in order to move to a safer place and that's how some people died.

People were chanting Allah's name while others were crying, including children and infants. People fell on the ground seeking help but there was no-one to give them a helping hand. Everybody seemed to be on their own.
It affected some members of our group. I lost my aunt as a result of the stampede and at the moment, two women from our entourage - a mother and her daughter - are still missing.

The Saudi civil defence directorate said in a statement that the stampede occurred at around 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT) at the junction of Street 204 and Street 223.
The pilgrims were walking towards the five-storey structure which surrounds the pillars, known as the Jamarat Bridge.


The incident happened when there was a "sudden increase" in the number of pilgrims heading towards the pillars, the statement said.
This "resulted in a stampede among the pilgrims and the collapse of a large number of them", it added.

Security personnel and the Saudi Red Crescent were "immediately" deployed to prevent more people heading towards the area, the directorate said.
Photographs showed the bodies of dozens of pilgrims on the ground, some piled high. They were all dressed in the simple white garments worn during the Hajj.
The civil defence directorate said the victims were of "different nationalities", without providing details.
As well as victims from Niger witnessed by the BBC's correspondent at the scene, Iran's state news agency, Irna, said at least 47 Iranians were among the dead.