MECCA, Saudi Arabia, Dec 25 (Reuters) - A fire on Monday engulfed the basement of a hotel full on pilgrims preparing for the annual Muslim haj this week and helicopters had to lift some of them trapped on upper floors, the state news agency said.

Sixteen pilgrims were taken to hospital for treatment, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. It did not disclose the nationality of the pilgrims but said their condition was stable.

The agency quoted a security official as saying police were investigating the cause of the fire.

Saudi officials say more than one and a half million pilgrims have so far converged on Mecca and they begin a five-day ritual on Friday in one of the world's biggest displays of mass religious devotion.

Officials expect up to 3 million pilgrims to attend the haj which takes place amid fears of sectarian violence and militant attack as well as the stampedes and hotel collapses that have marred the pilgrimage in recent years.

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