UPDATE: 220 dead in hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia civil defence has confirmed that the death toll in Thursday’s stampede has risen to 220, with over 500 injured.

The pilgrims were killed in a crush at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, where some two million people are performing the annual haj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya television reported.

It would be recalled that earlier this month, at least 107 people died and more than 230 people were injured when a crane collapsed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.