Rescue workers remove the dead bodies of victims of a stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia Thursday Jan. 12, 2006.(Xinhua photo)

    RIYADH, Jan. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- More than 345 Muslim pilgrims were trampled to death and some 300 others wounded during a stoning ritual near the holy Saudi city of Mecca on Thursday, Saudi officials said.

    The pilgrims were crushed at the eastern entrance of Mena's Jamarat Bridge as they jostled to perform the stoning before sunset on the last day of the annual hajj, according to the officials.

    The pressure of numbers intensified after many pilgrims scrambled to pick up dropped belongings in the heavy crowds, the Interior Ministry said. Pilgrims tripped over baggage, causing a large pileup and panic, triggering a stampede.

    Health Minister Hamad bin Abdullah al-Maneh told reporters that more than 345 people were killed and 289 injured.

    State-run Saudi television Al-Ekhbariyah reported that most of the victims were from South Asia.

    The bodies were lined up on the pavement nearby, covered with white sheets, then driven away in ambulances and refrigerated trucks afterward. Emergency workers rushed the injured away on stretchers.

    Police cleared part of the site, allowing thousands of pilgrimsto continue the stoning ritual.

    Some 2.8 million Muslims are performing the hajj this year, and the stampede was the deadliest since 1,426 people were killed in a similar one in a tunnel in Mecca in 1990.

    Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz blamed the crush on pilgrims who had insisted on carrying bulky baggage during the stoning ritual despite official warnings.

    Saudi authorities have beefed up security around the site. A tight cordon has been set up around the Jamarat Bridge to control the crowds, with Some 40,000 troops being deployed nearby since the stoning ritual began on Tuesday to direct pilgrims. Helicopters fly overhead, and authorities monitor the pilgrims from a control room through closed-circuit television.

    The site in a bottleneck shape has seen many fatal incidents inthe past years, including a stampede in 1990 that killed 1,426 people and another in February 2004 that killed 244.

    Saudi Arabia has revamped the Jamarat area by expanding the stoning targets, widening ramps leading to the platform where the three pillars are located and creating more emergency exits.

    After this year's hajj, the kingdom plans to replace the Jamarat Bridge with a more elaborate bridge, local media said.

    Saudi Arabia sets a quota of participants, allowing every nation to send 1,000 pilgrims for every 1 million in population. Enditem