DHAKA: At least 310 people taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage have been killed in a stampede near the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

Officials in Saudi Arabia say, reports the BBC.

Another 450 people were injured in the incident at Mina, which occurred 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.

Preparations for the Hajj were marred when a crane collapsed at Mecca's Grand Mosque this month, killing 109 people.

The Saudi civil defense directorate said on Twitter that 4,000 personnel had been sent to the scene of Thursday’s stampede, along with more than 220 emergency and rescue units. The injured are being taken to four hospitals in the area.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the stampede, but it is not the first to have occurred during the Hajj.

Hajj: Deadly incidents

1987: 400 people die as Saudi authorities confront pro-Iranian demonstration

1990: 1,426 pilgrims killed in tunnel leading to holy sites

1994: 270 killed in stampede

1997: 343 pilgrims killed and 1,500 injured in fire

2006: 364 pilgrims die in a crush during the stone-throwing ritual

BDST: 1611 HRS, SEPT 24, 2015
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** 220 killed in Saudi Arabia hajj stampede
** 150 killed in hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia