CAIRO, Sept 29 (Aswat Masriya) - The number of Egyptians who died in a stampede while preforming Haj rose to 78 from 55, the Egyptian Haj mission said Tuesday.

Around 38,000 Egyptian pilgrims have returned from Saudi Arabia which hosts the annual Islamic ritual in Mecca, with 29,255 remaining. 

Pictures of dozens of Egyptians who went to Saudi for pilgrimage are being circulated on social media by family members who have lost contact with them. Many of them are senior citizens.

On Thursday, a stampede in the tent city of Mina left hundreds dead after people either suffocated or were trampled while preforming Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam.  

Initially, Saudi Arabia put the death toll at 717, but raised it on Saturday to 769, Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih said. 

The stampede has killed and injured people from across the world, including 226 from Iran, according to Iranian officials.

The incident has sparked more tensions between the Saudi Kingdom and Iran. The latter is one of the most vocal critics of the Saudi authorities' handling of the crisis.