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| Hajj stampede: UK 'ready to help' Britons in Mecca | Hajj stampede: UK 'ready to help' Britons in Mecca |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The UK Foreign Office has said it is "ready to support" any Britons caught up in a stampede near the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. | The UK Foreign Office has said it is "ready to support" any Britons caught up in a stampede near the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. |
| At least 717 people taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage were killed and hundreds injured, officials said. | At least 717 people taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage were killed and hundreds injured, officials said. |
| About 25,000 British Muslims are estimated to have travelled to take part in the event. | About 25,000 British Muslims are estimated to have travelled to take part in the event. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron offered his "thoughts and prayers" to the families of those killed. | Prime Minister David Cameron offered his "thoughts and prayers" to the families of those killed. |
| Follow live video and text updates | |
| "The British embassy in Riyadh and British consulate-general in Jeddah are urgently seeking more information and stand ready to provide support to any British nationals that may have been involved," the Foreign Office said. | "The British embassy in Riyadh and British consulate-general in Jeddah are urgently seeking more information and stand ready to provide support to any British nationals that may have been involved," the Foreign Office said. |
| More than 860 people have been injured in the incident at Mina, which happened as two million pilgrims were taking part in the Hajj's last major rite. They converge on Mina to throw stones at pillars representing the devil. | |
| 'Locate pilgrims' | |
| Rashid Mogradia, from the Council of British Hajjis, an organisation which looks after the welfare of British pilgrims going to Mecca, said: "On the one hand we have Muslims around the world and here in the UK celebrating Eid and on the other hand we have this tragic incident unfolding before us in Mina, Saudi Arabia. | |
| "We have been in contact with a number of tour operators who have taken around 20,000 British pilgrims out for the Hajj, making up that big figure of two million pilgrims, and advising them on the next step in trying to locate their pilgrims to account for them. | |
| "We are seeing on a hourly basis and now minute-by-minute the numbers [of dead] are increasing and we hope that's the end of what we hear." | |
| What happens at the Hajj? | |
| Why do millions gather in Mecca every year? |