More than 700 killed in Hajj pilgrimage stampede in Saudi Arabia

Update 8:46pm More than 700 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a stampede on the outskirts of Mecca, the deadliest such tragedy to strike the annual hajj pilgrimage in nearly a decade.

717 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a stampede on the outskirts of Mecca, the deadliest such tragedy to strike the annual hajj pilgrimage in nearly a decade.

It was the second major disaster during this year’s hajj season, raising questions about the adequacy of measures put in place by Saudi authorities to ensure the safety of the roughly two million Muslims taking part. A crane collapse in Mecca nearly two weeks earlier left more than 100 people dead.