Over 700 Killed in Saudi Arabia Stampede During Mecca Pilgrimage

Over 700 people were killed in the city of Mina, Saudi Arabia on Thursday as a result of a stampede during the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.

The pilgrimage is apart of the holy Hajj season, and the stampede took place in Mina during the "stoning of the devil" ritual.

Along with 700 deaths, Saudi Arabia's officials are reporting that another 800 people were injured in the Thursday morning stampede that reportedly took place as people walked toward the location of the "stoning of the devil," which involves throwing stones at three pillars.

"We have a stampede accident in Mina, and civil defense is dealing with it," Interior Ministry spokespman and Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said in a statement.

As NBC News reports, authorities say the "surge" of people took place at around 9 a.m. as a massive group of pilgrims were walking to view the "stoning of the devil" ritual.

Saudi Arabia's civil defense directorate said in a statement that the sudden surge "resulted in a stampede among the pilgrims and the collapse of a large number of them,."

One survivor, a pilgrim visiting from Egypt, said he saw pilgrims climbing over each other just to breathe and escape the surge.

"I saw someone trip over someone in a wheelchair and several people tripping over him. People were climbing over one another just to breathe," 44-year-old Abdullah Lotfy, 44 told the media outlet. "It was like a wave. You go forward and suddenly you go back."