At least 550 pilgrims died during the Hajj, the great Muslim pilgrimage, which took place again this year in high temperatures, writes AFP.
Numerous believers arrived in Mecca to perform the Hajj, one of the obligations that all Muslim believers must perform once in their life, provided they are physically able to make the journey to the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and provided they have sufficient financial resources.
Permits to Mecca are allocated based on quotas per country.
Pilgrims from Egypt died the most
Of the 550 deceased pilgrims, at least 323 were from Egypt. Most of them succumbed to heat-related illnesses, two Arab diplomats told AFP.
“Egyptians died because of the heat,” said one of the diplomats, adding that the total figure came from a hospital mortuary in the Al-Muaisem district of Makkah.
Diplomats say at least 60 Jordanians have died.
The new deaths increase the total number reported so far in several countries to 577, according to AFP.
Diplomats said the total death toll at the Al-Muaisem morgue, one of the largest in Makkah, was 550.
Saudi authorities: 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stress are being treated
Earlier yesterday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Cairo is cooperating with Saudi authorities in search operations for Egyptians who went missing during the Hajj.
Although the ministry’s statement said there had been a “certain number of deaths”, it did not say whether Egyptians were among them.
Saudi authorities reported treating more than 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stress, but did not update that figure as of Sunday and did not provide information on deaths.
Last year, around 240 pilgrims from various countries died during the Hajj, most of them Indonesians.
In Mecca at the beginning of the week, the temperature was higher than 50 degrees
The pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate disruption, according to a Saudi study published last month.
The study says that every decade the temperature in the Hajj area rises by 0.4 C. The temperature in Mecca on Monday was 51.8 Celsius, the Saudi National Meteorological Center announced.
AFP reporters in Mina, near Mecca, saw pilgrims pouring bottles of water over their heads on Monday as volunteers handed out cold drinks and quick-melting ice cream to help cool them down.
Saudi officials advised pilgrims to use umbrellas, drink plenty of water and avoid sun exposure during the hottest hours of the day.
But many Hajj rites, including the Mount Arafat prayer that took place on Saturday, involve spending several hours outdoors during the day.
Some pilgrims said they saw motionless bodies on the road and emergency services seemed overwhelmed at times.
About 1.8 million pilgrims participated in the Hajj this year, of which 1.6 million are from abroad, according to data from the Saudi authorities.
