More than a thousand people died on the pilgrimage to Mecca: temperatures exceeded 50 degrees

More than a thousand people died this year during the great annual pilgrimage to Mecca celebrated in sweltering heat, according to an updated count by the AFP news agency on Thursday, and more than half were unregistered pilgrims.

>>> Number of people killed during pilgrimage to Mecca rises to more than 900

The new balance includes another 58 Egyptians, which brings to 658 the number of pilgrims of this nationality who died during the Haj in Saudi Arabia.

Of them, 630 were in an irregular situation in the kingdom, which distributes visas by country each year on the occasion of the pilgrimage based on a quota system.

Total, 1,081 people from about 10 countries died this year in the great annual pilgrimage to Meccaone of the five pillars of Islam with which every Muslim who has sufficient means to do so must comply.

The figures come from official communications or diplomats from the respective countries.

The Hajj, whose dates are determined by the Islamic lunar calendar, fell this year on the threshold of the torrid Saudi summer.

The national meteorological center reported these days a temperature of up to 51.8 ºC in the Great Mosque of Meccathe holy city where the prophet Muhammad began his preaching.

Saudi Arabia has a system of quotas for pilgrims by country, but every year, tens of thousands travel to the kingdom through irregular channels, because they do not have enough money to pay for the official procedure.

These pilgrims are more vulnerable to extreme heat, since Due to the lack of official documents, they cannot access the air-conditioned spaces enabled by the Saudi authorities.which this year received 1.8 million authorized pilgrims.

“People were exhausted”a diplomat told AFP this Thursday, referring to the exhausting day on Saturday, in which the faithful spent the day outside on the occasion of the climb to Mount Arafat, a hill near Mecca where according to tradition Muhammad pronounced his prayers. last sermon

According to this diplomat, The main cause of death among Egyptian pilgrims was heat, which caused them serious health problems.

In addition to Egypt, pilgrims from Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraqi Kurdistan died.

In addition to the deceased, there are also missing people, and their relatives are looking for them in the area hospitals.

>>> Heat wave has claimed the lives of more than 500 people who were pilgrims to Mecca