Lhe majority of the pilgrims who lost their lives during the hajj which took place last week in Mecca, the holiest city of Islam in western Saudi Arabia, are of Egyptian nationality. According to an Arab diplomat, the Egyptian death toll at the hajj has risen to at least 600. “All (newly announced) deaths are due to heat”, he told AFP, as temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius.
Previously, other diplomats reported at least 323 Egyptians died during the hajj, which was attended by around 1.8 million people this year, most of them from abroad.
Egyptian officials in Saudi Arabia “have been informed so far of 1400 cases of missing pilgrims”, this figure includes the 600 dead pilgrims, added the Arab diplomat.
The new toll has exceeded 1,000 deaths, according to a count carried out by AFP based on data provided by different countries.
Houria Sharif, a 70-year-old Egyptian woman, has been missing since she prayed on Mount Arafat on Saturday. “We’ve knocked on lots of doors, but we haven’t found her until now”, said a friend.
Mabrouka bint Salem Shoushana, a Tunisian septuagenarian, has been missing since the highlight of Saturday’s pilgrimage to Mount Arafat, her husband, Mohammed, told AFP. Because she was not registered and did not have an official permit for the hajj, she was unable to access the air-conditioned facilities that allow pilgrims to cool off after hours of outdoor prayers, he said. -he explains. “She was so hot and she had no place to sleep. I looked for her in all the hospitals. And until now I don’t know anything about her”, explained her husband. He’s far from the only one in desperate need of information.
Facebook and other social media sites have been flooded with photos of missing people and requests for information.
Ghada Mahmoud Dawoud, an Egyptian woman, has been missing since Saturday. “I received a call from her daughter in Egypt asking me to post a message on Facebook that might help find her” said a family friend based in Saudi Arabia, who requested anonymity. “We didn’t find her on the dead list, which gives us hope that she is still alive”, he continued.
The pilgrimage is increasingly being impacted by climate change, a Saudi study published in May warned that temperatures at sites where rituals take place are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius every ten years. Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the hajj through irregular means because they cannot afford the often expensive official permits.
In addition to the Egyptian deaths, 60 Jordanian deaths were announced by Arab diplomats. Deaths have also been confirmed in Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraqi Kurdistan. An Asian diplomat reported:68 deaths” among Indian pilgrims. Diplomats said the day before that 550 bodies had been transported to the Al-Muaisem morgue, one of the largest in Mecca.
On Sunday, Saudi authorities said they had treated more than 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stress, without providing information on the deaths.
