Dozens killed, hundreds stranded in Saudi floods

Officials say 48 people have died in Saudi Arabia and 900 were rescued after the heaviest rainfall in years.

A spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry said today that none of the casualties were among the millions of pilgrims who are in Saudi Arabia for the haj.

The four-day pilgrimage, which started yesterday, draws more than three million people from every corner of the globe.

The downpours stopped today, but there were fears of more rain to come.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said yesterday’s deaths were in the port city of Jiddah, Rabigh and Mecca.

The statement blamed the deaths on flooding and collapsed homes.