More than 550 pilgrims died in Makkah in heat near 52 degrees

Jerusalem:

Diplomats said on Tuesday that at least 550 pilgrims had died during the Hajj, underscoring the brutal nature of the pilgrimage which has again this year exposed in scorching temperatures.

Two Arab diplomats coordinating their country's response told AFP that at least 323 Egyptians died, most of them from heat-related illnesses.

“All of them died from the (Egyptian) heat” except for one who was fatally injured in a minor crowd injury, a diplomat said, adding that the total came from the hospital morgue in Makkah's al-Muaysem neighborhood.

At least 60 Jordanians also died, diplomats said, up from an official figure of 41 given by Amman on Tuesday.

The new deaths bring the total reported so far in multiple countries to 577, according to an AFP tally.

Diplomats said a total of 550 people died at the al-Muwaisem morgue, one of the largest in Mecca.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once by all able-bodied Muslims.

Pilgrimages are increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month, which said temperatures in areas where religious ceremonies are held are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.

The temperature at Mecca's Grand Mosque reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) on Monday, the Saudi National Meteorological Center said.

heat stress

Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt's foreign ministry said Cairo was cooperating with Saudi authorities in a search operation for Egyptians who went missing during the Hajj.

Although a ministry statement said “a certain number of deaths” had occurred, it did not specify whether Egyptians were among them.

Saudi authorities reported treating more than 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stress but had not updated that figure since Sunday and did not provide information on deaths.

At least 240 pilgrim deaths were reported in various countries last year, most of them Indonesians.

AFP reporters in Mina, outside Mecca, saw pilgrims pouring bottles of water over their heads on Monday as volunteers handed out cold drinks and quick-melting chocolate ice cream to help keep them cool.

Saudi officials advised pilgrims to use umbrellas, drink plenty of water and avoid sun exposure during the hottest part of the day.

However, many Hajj rituals, including the prayer on Mount Arafat held on Saturdays, involve being outside for hours during the day.

Some pilgrims described seeing bodies lying on the side of the road and ambulance services being overwhelmed at times.

According to Saudi authorities, about 1.8 million pilgrims participated in the Hajj this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad.

Unregistered pilgrims

Every year thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform Hajj through irregular channels because they cannot afford the often expensive procedures for official Hajj visas.

This puts off-book pilgrims at risk as they cannot access the air-conditioned facilities provided by the Saudi authorities along the Hajj route.

A diplomat who spoke to AFP on Tuesday said the Egyptian death toll had increased “absolutely” due to the large number of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims.

“Irregular pilgrims caused widespread chaos in Egyptian pilgrim camps, causing services to collapse,” said an Egyptian official overseeing the country's Hajj mission.

“Pilgrims went for long periods without food, water or air conditioning.”

They died in the heat because “most people had no place” to take shelter.

Earlier this month, Saudi officials said they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca ahead of Hajj.

Other countries that have reported deaths during Hajj this year include Indonesia, Iran and Senegal.

Most countries did not specify how many people died due to heat.

Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdul Rahman al-Jalajel said on Tuesday that the health plan for the Hajj had been “successfully carried out”, preventing major outbreaks of disease and other public health threats, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Health officials “provided virtual consultations to 5,800 pilgrims, primarily for heat-related illnesses, enabling immediate intervention and reducing the likelihood of an increase in cases,” SPA said.

(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and appeared on a syndicated feed.)