30 Egyptians wounded in Hajj stampede, no death

At least 30 Egyptian pilgrims were wounded in the Mina stampede incident in which hundreds of pilgrims were killed and wounded, Assistant Interior Minister and the executive chairman of the Hajj mission Sayed Maher told MENA.

He said no Egyptian reportedly died so far in the tragedy.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail phoned Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, who leads Egypt's hajj mission, to stand on the conditions of Egyptian pilgrims after the stampede.

Five operational rooms were set up following the incident to follow up the developments of the incident, Gomaa said.

The number of pilgrims who died in the stampede rose to 717, according to the Saudi Civil Defense Service.

The crush took place at 7:30 a.m. on Street 204 of the camp city at Mina where pilgrims are stoning three pillars symbolizing the devil.

Hajj is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and a religious duty that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime.

Source: MENA