Saudi haj stampede death toll rises to 717 - civil defence

Members of Saudi civil defense try to rescue pilgrims following a crush caused by large numbers of people pushing at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca in this handout picture published on Twitter account of the Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense September 24, 2015. REUTERS/Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense/Handout via Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) - The death toll from a stampede on Thursday during the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has risen to 717 people of various nationalities, the Saudi civil defence said. It said that the crush, which was caused by large numbers of people gathering at Mina outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca where some two million are performing haj, had also left 805 people injured. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy, writing by Sami Aboudi)