Hajj death toll rises to 769

The death toll in a crush at the annual hajj pilgrimage outside Mecca rose to 769, Saudi Arabia said on Saturday, as arch-rival Iran said Saudi officials should be tried in an international court for what it called a crime.

The worst disaster to befall the Islamic event in a quarter of a century occurred on Thursday as two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers outside the holy city.

"The latest statistics up to this hour reveal 769 dead. That is an increase of 52 on the previous figures," Saudi health minister Khalid al-Falih told a news conference.

"Those are the ones who died in various hospitals since the event," he said, adding that 934 people were wounded.

Shia Muslim Iran, which is locked in a series of proxy wars in Arab countries around the Sunni Muslim kingdom, says that at least 136 Iranians are among the dead, sparking protests and outrage in the Islamic Republic on Friday.