Emergency workers sift through the rubble at the site of a collapsed building in the holy Muslim city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia January 5, 2006. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

     RIYADH, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 20 Muslim pilgrims were killed in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on Thursday when an aging hostel collapsed as thousands of Muslims gathered for the annual hajj pilgrimage, the Interior Ministry said.

    An additional 59 people were injured, said ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki at a press conference in Mecca.

    Twenty bodies have been found, including eight women and 11 men, as well as an unidentified body.

    The spokesman gave no information on the nationalities of the dead.

    The cause of the building's collapse is still under investigation.

    The spokesman said a committee was set up soon after the accident to coordinate the search and rescue work.

    Emergency teams were fighting their way through the rubble to search for survivors as police cordoned off the area near the holy mosque.

    Residents said the hostel was six stories high and 30 years old.

    The hajj has been marred by deaths in recent years. In January 2004, some 250 pilgrims died in a stampede at the Jamarat bridge on the third day of the event. Enditem