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1st LD: Saudi stampede toll rises to 220

Xinhua, September 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Saudi authorities said a stampede Thursday in Mecca has killed 220 pilgrims and injured 450 others.

More than 4,000 rescue workers and over 200 emergency vehicles are working at the scene, the Saudi Civil Defense authorities said on its Twitter account.

It said the stampede happened amid a rush of the stoning as part of Hajj rituals. Muslim pilgrims throw stones on a wall representing devil.

The was the second major incident involving massive casualties this month in Saudi Arabia.

Early September, 111 pilgrims were killed and 331 others injured in a crane crash in the grand mosque of Mecca. Endit