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More than 1,000 pilgrims evacuated as Saudi Arabian hotel catches fire ahead of the hajj

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. Despite the crane accident on Friday, almost one million pilgrims have arrived as of Tuesday ahead of the hajj. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) (The Associated Press)

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015. Despite the crane accident on Friday, almost one million pilgrims have arrived as of Tuesday ahead of the hajj. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) (The Associated Press)

Emergency officials in Saudi Arabia say more than 1,000 pilgrims were safely evacuated from a hotel in Mecca during a fire there ahead of the hajj.

Authorities say a blaze started Thursday on the eighth floor of an 11-story hotel in Mecca's Aziziya neighborhood.

Saudi civil defense officials say two pilgrims were being treated for injuries from the fire.

The hajj is expected to start on Monday. More than 1 million pilgrims have already arrived for the annual pilgrimage, which all able-bodied Muslims are required to perform once in their lives.

The fire comes after a crane collapse in Mecca last Friday killed at least 111 people and injured more than 390.