Hundreds killed in crush at Saudi's Hajj pilgrimage
Hundreds of Muslim pilgrims have been killed in a crush as tragedy once again beset the world's largest annual gathering of people at the Hajj festival near Mecca.
At least 717 people were confirmed dead and a further 805 injured by Saudi officials - the worst fatalities in more than 25 years at a holy festival notorious for mass deaths by crushings.
The disaster occurred at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city, on the first day of the Eid festival as more than two million performed this year's pilgrimage.
The Foreign Office has said it stands "ready to provide support to any British nationals" with around 20,000 understood to have joined the pilgrimage.
Prime Minister David Cameron offered his "thoughts and prayers" to the families of the victims.
The head of the Council of British Hajjis has told ITV News it will initially prove "very hard" to locate the 20,000 British pilgrims, despite some tour operators calling in to confirm their group's safety.
Chief executive Rashid Mogradia defended Saudi security measures for the world's largest gathering of people.
He said anyone unable to contact British loved ones attending the Hajj can contact the council via its website at http://cbhuk.org/
Travel association Abta said the thousands who had travelled from the UK to Saudi Arabia had spent between £4,000-5,000 for what was for many a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage.
Foreign Office officials confirmed the British Embassy in Riyadh and British Consulate-General in Jeddah were "urgently seeking more information" about British nationals.
The deadly stampede comes less than two weeks after more than 100 people were killed when a crane collapsed onto one of Islam's holiest shrines in Mecca.
Hundreds of pilgrims last died at the Hajj in 2006, while the annual gathering has also seen similar numbers of lives perish amid tent fires and riots in other years.
The latest death toll was the worst since 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in July 1990.
Thursday has traditionally been the most dangerous day of Hajj as the mass crowd of pilgrims attempt to perform rituals at the same time in a single location.
A British Muslim pilgrim attending the Hajj near Mecca told ITV News he was "horrified" and "shocked" to learn of the deaths.
Mohammed Adree Sharif said the event had "seemed to be well organised" and well policed.
It remained unclear what had sparked the pushing by large numbers atMina.
Street 204 is one of the two main arteries leading through the camp at Mina to Jamarat, where pilgrims ritually stone the devil by hurling pebbles at three large pillars.
The Hajj has invested heavily in new infrastructure and crowd control over the past two decades in an attempt to protect against repeat tragedies.
Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority confirmed the rising death and injury tolls on its Twitter account.