RIYADH, Feb. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 244 people were trampled to death and the same number injured on Sunday during a stoning ritual at the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia, police sources said.

    Police and medical teams involved in the rescue operation said hundreds of people were crushed as crowds thronged a spot in the town of Mena to throw stones at pillars representing the devil.

    "This morning there was a heavy crush among pilgrims throwingpebbles. Several pilgrims stumbled and some were killed," the stateSaudi Press Agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying.

    Around two million pilgrims had flocked to Jamarat Bridge inMena to perform the ritual.

    Hundreds of thousands of people were walking over and under the15-meter wide bridge which spans a small valley between two cliffs.

    Despite the chaos, some pilgrims continued to camp out beneaththe bridge.

    The hajj has witnessed deadly stampedes almost every year. Inthe tragedy in 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in atunnel stampede.

    Last year 14 people were trampled to death as huge crowds thronged the area. In 2001 at least 35 people died in a stampede at the bridge and 119 died in a similar incident in 1998.

    Mena, on the pilgrimage route from Mecca in western Saudi Arabiato nearby Mount Arafat, is thronged with people all day after pilgrims trekked there early in the morning.

    A massive security operation has been mounted this year and thousands of troops have been deployed in the kingdom to ensure security amid concerns over possible bombing.

    Muslims around the world began to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, on Sunday.

    The pilgrims will spend the next two nights in Mena in tents before returning home.

    Hajj is mandatory once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. Pilgrims begin the ritual by retracing the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed 14 centuries ago. Enditem

    122 Indonesian haj pilgrims die in Mecca

    JAKARTA, Feb. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The number of Indonesian haj pilgrims died in Mecca accumulated to 122 by Saturday, as it is the final day of the haj pilgrimage, the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs said here on Sunday.

    According to the Antara news agency, a ministry report said thepilgrims had died of heart attacks and respiratory problems.

    Dr. Junaedi, a physician responsible for the health of Indonesian pilgrims, said many fell ill from the cold weather and low humidity.

    "The drastic change in weather between day and night also contributed to the suffering of the pilgrims," he said.

    Indonesia, as the most populous Islamic country in the world, there are ten housands of muslims making haj pilgrimage to Mecca every year. Enditem