On Tuesday, Egyptian diplomatic sources reported the death of 323 Egyptian citizens during the Great Pilgrimage to Mecca, which took place from Friday to Sunday. One of the Arab diplomats told AFP today that another 58 Egyptian pilgrims had died, bringing raised the number of Egyptians who died during this year’s great pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) to 658. According to him, 630 of them did not have an official permit for the pilgrimage.
Today, another diplomatic source told AFP about the 68 dead pilgrims from India. “We believe some of them died due to weather conditions,” said the diplomat. He pointed out that some of the pilgrims are elderly people. Some people from India are also missing.
Saudi authorities have not yet released the death toll. However, they stated that they had to treat 2,700 pilgrims. The AFP agency thus ascertains the numbers primarily from diplomatic sources. Some countries, such as Jordan, have officially published information about the deaths of their pilgrims. According to an AFP count, at least 922 people died in total.
The AP agency also writes about hundreds of dead. According to her sources in one hospital facility near Mecca, it is located in a 600-bed morguel. Hundreds of people then search for their loved ones in hospitals, about whom they have no news. Many people search for relatives on the Internet and post requests for information on social networks.
Last year, 200 pilgrims died during the great pilgrimage. Many countries attribute this year’s increase at least partially to high temperatures, writes the AP agency. The large number of deaths during the great pilgrimage in recent decades was mainly due to crowding. In 2015, over 2,400 pilgrims died in such a situation in the middle of a crowd, and in 1990, 1,400 people died. Saudi Arabia then invested billions of dollars in improving security.
A Reuters witness said that thousands of pilgrims lay in the streets and were exposed to the sun during the ascent of Mount Arafat, one of the integral rituals of the journey. The bodies of the dead were later covered with ihram cloth – a simple garment worn by pilgrims – until medical vehicles arrived, the witness said.
An Arab diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP today that he believed the heat was the main cause of the deaths of the mostly Egyptian pilgrims. which in conjunction with high blood pressure caused health complications.
Saudi authorities have not yet released the death toll. However, they stated that they had to treat 2,700 pilgrims. The AFP agency thus ascertains the numbers primarily from diplomatic sources.
The pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a symbolic imitation of the last pilgrimage of the Prophet Muhammad, is one of the pillars of Islam and every Muslim should make it at least once in his life, if his health allows it. Millions of worshipers undertake the great pilgrimage (Hajj), which takes place each year on a given date, or the small pilgrimage (Umra), which can be undertaken during the rest of the year. This year, according to local authorities, 1.8 million people took part in the pilgrimage, of which 1.6 million came from abroad.
