Ghana National Council

MINA, Saudi Arabia (Jan. 12) - Thousands of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual during the hajj tripped over luggage Thursday, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed, the Interior Ministry said.

The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said 345 people were killed. More than 1,000 people were injured, said Dr. Abbasi with the Saudi Red Crescent.

The ritual has seen deadly stampedes in the past, including one in 1990 that killed 1,426 people and another in February 2004 that killed 244.

A ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, said the stampede happened as pilgrims were rushing to complete the last of three days of the stoning ritual before sunset. Some pieces of luggage spilled from moving buses at one entrance to al-Jamarat, causing pilgrims to trip and pile up, al-Turki said.

Al-Turki said there were deaths, but he could not give an exact number. State-run Saudi television Al-Ekhbariyah cited police officials as saying dozens were killed and injured.

Ambulances and police cars streamed into the area, and security forces tried to move pilgrims away from part of the site, though thousands continued with the ritual.

The pillars are located on a large pedestrian bridge, the width of an eight-lane highway over the desert plain of Mina outside the holy city of Mecca. A number of ramps lead up the bridge to give pilgrims access to the site, and the stampede occurred at the base of one ramp.

The stampede took place despite Saudi efforts to improve traffic for the massive crowds of pilgrims at the site, where all 2.5 million pilgrims participating in the annual hajj move from pillar to pillar to throw their stones, then exit.

Saudi authorities recently widened the bridge and built extra ramps and increased the time pilgrims can carry out the rite -- traditionally done between sunrise and sunset.

The stoning ritual is one of the last events of the hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites, which able-bodied Muslims with the financial means are required by their faith to do at least once.

Many pilgrims had already finished the stoning ritual Thursday and had gone back to Mecca to carry out a farewell circuit around the Kaaba, the black stone cube that Muslims face when they do their daily prayers.