AFP has more details of the stoning the devil ritual, during which the stampede occurred.
Thursday’s ritual was taking place at a five-storey structure known
as the Jamarat Bridge, which cost more than $1 billion (£0.66 billion)
to build, and which was used during earlier pilgrimages.
Almost one kilometre (less than a mile) long, it resembles a parking
garage and allows 300,000 pilgrims an hour to carry out the ritual.
The faithful had gathered until dawn Thursday at nearby Muzdalifah
where they chose their pebbles and stored them in empty water bottles.
They had spent a day of prayer Wednesday on a vast Saudi plain and
Mount Arafat, a rocky hill about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Mina,
for the peak of the hajj pilgrimage.
It was not immediately clear if the stoning ritual at Mina would continue as planned until Saturday after the stampede.
The ritual emulates the Prophet Abraham, who is said to have stoned
the devil at three locations when he tried to dissuade Abraham from
God’s order to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
At the last moment, God spares the boy, sending a sheep to be sacrificed in his place.
The world’s Muslims commemorated Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice
his son by slaughtering cows, sheep and other animals on Thursday.
Rescuers attend to people injured in the stampede during the hajj. Pictures from the official account of the
Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense. Photograph: Saudi Civil Defense
Approximately 25,000 UK nationals travel to Saudi Arabia for the hajj, according to the Britihs Hajji Delegation, which provides on the ground medical support to British citizens during the pilgrimage.
A spokesman for the UK foreign office said:
We are in contact with local authorities and urgently seeking more
information following reports of a crush during the hajj pilgrimage at
Mecca.
The death toll continues to rise. It now stands at 310, according to Saudi civil defence. Unsurprisingly, given that pilgrims gather from all over the world, it says several nationalities are among the dead.
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