All instructed round 10 international locations have reported 1,081 deaths in the course of the annual pilgrimage, one of many 5 pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means should full no less than as soon as. The figures have come by way of official statements or from diplomats engaged on their international locations’ responses.
The hajj, whose timing is decided by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell once more this yr in the course of the oven-like Saudi summer time.
Issam Rimawi/Anadolu/Getty
The nationwide meteorological heart reported a excessive of 51.8 levels Celsius (125 levels Fahrenheit) earlier this week on the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Egyptian officers reached by CBS News wouldn’t verify the figures said by the AFP, however dozens of movies posted on social media in latest days confirmed our bodies laying on the streets across the Grand Mosque.
According to a Saudi examine revealed final month, temperatures within the space are rising 0.4 levels Celsius, or simply lower than one diploma Fahrenheit, every decade.
Every yr, tens of hundreds of pilgrims try and carry out the hajj by way of irregular channels as they can not afford the customarily pricey official permits. Saudi authorities reported clearing a whole bunch of hundreds of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca earlier this month, however it seems many nonetheless participated in the principle rites which started final Friday.
This group was extra weak to the warmth as a result of, with out official permits, they may not entry air-conditioned areas supplied by Saudi authorities for the 1.8 million approved pilgrims to chill down after hours of strolling and praying outdoors.
“People have been drained after being chased by safety forces earlier than Arafat day. They have been exhausted,” one Arab diplomat instructed AFP on Thursday, referring to Saturday’s day-long outside prayers that marked the hajj’s climax.
FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty
The diplomat stated the principal reason behind dying amongst Egyptian pilgrims was the warmth, which triggered issues associated to hypertension and different points.
In addition to Egypt, fatalities have additionally been confirmed to AFP by Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan area, although in lots of circumstances authorities haven’t specified the trigger.
Friends and members of the family have been trying to find pilgrims who’re nonetheless lacking.
On Wednesday they scoured hospitals and pleaded on-line for information, fearing the worst in the course of the scorching temperatures.
Saudi Arabia has not supplied info on fatalities, although it reported greater than 2,700 circumstances of “warmth exhaustion” on Sunday alone.
