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| The stampede was reported at Street 204 of Mina (videos below) |
Staff correspondent, September 24, 2015, NewsCrunch
A stampede during the "stoning of the devil" ceremony left an estimated 220 pilgrims dead and over 400 injured on Thursday at Mina near the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
The stampede was reported at Street 204 of Mina, one of the two main arteries leading to Jamarat, where pilgrims throw pebbles at a wall representing Satan.
Haj has seen similar tragedies in the past, mainly from stampedes. Hundreds died in a stampede in Mina during the stoning ritual in 2006.
The closing of days haj can get dangerous as pilgrims rush to perform rituals at the same time.
A few days ago over 100 people were killed at Mecca when a construction crane crashed on the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site.
RT IamTeamIK: At least 220 pilgrims were martyred and 500 injured in stampede during stoning jammrat #Mecca :( pic.twitter.com/jFqxpwUGDA#…— Talha Nasir (@TalhaNasirXD) September 24, 2015More than 200 killed in #Mecca stampede, with numbers rising. See Twitter list for updates: https://t.co/SrXa72r46Lhttps://t.co/OouGclNIZ8— Rob McDonagh (@RobMcD) September 24, 2015