The brand new deaths convey the whole reported to this point by a number of international locations to 577, based on an AFP tally.
Jerusalem:
Diplomats on Tuesday stated a minimum of 550 pilgrims died through the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which once more unfolded in scorching temperatures this 12 months.
Not less than 323 of those that died had been Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related sicknesses, two Arab diplomats coordinating their international locations’ responses instructed AFP.
“All of them (the Egyptians) died due to warmth” apart from one who sustained deadly accidents throughout a minor crowd crush, one of many diplomats stated, including the whole determine got here from the hospital morgue within the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Mecca.
Not less than 60 Jordanians additionally died, the diplomats stated, up from an official tally of 41 given earlier on Tuesday by Amman.
The brand new deaths convey the whole reported to this point by a number of international locations to 577, based on an AFP tally.
The diplomats stated the whole on the morgue in Al-Muaisem, one of many largest in Mecca, was 550.
The hajj is among the 5 pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means should full it a minimum of as soon as.
The pilgrimage is more and more affected by local weather change, based on a Saudi research printed final month that stated temperatures within the space the place rituals are carried out had been rising 0.4 levels Celsius (0.72 levels Fahrenheit) every decade.
Temperatures hit 51.8 levels Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) on the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday, the Saudi nationwide meteorology centre stated.
Warmth stress
Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt’s overseas ministry stated Cairo was collaborating with Saudi authorities on search operations for Egyptians who had gone lacking through the hajj.
Whereas a ministry assertion stated “a sure variety of deaths” had occurred, it didn’t specify whether or not Egyptians had been amongst them.
Saudi authorities have reported treating greater than 2,000 pilgrims affected by warmth stress however haven’t up to date that determine since Sunday and haven’t supplied data on fatalities.
Not less than 240 pilgrims had been reported useless by varied international locations final 12 months, most of them Indonesians.
AFP journalists in Mina, exterior Mecca, on Monday noticed pilgrims pouring bottles of water over their heads as volunteers handed out chilly drinks and fast-melting chocolate ice cream to assist them preserve cool.
Saudi officers had suggested pilgrims to make use of umbrellas, drink loads of water and keep away from publicity to the solar through the hottest hours of the day.
However lots of the hajj rituals, together with the prayers on Mount Arafat which happened on Saturday, contain being outdoor for hours within the daytime.
Some pilgrims described seeing immobile our bodies on the roadside and ambulance companies that appeared overwhelmed at instances.
Round 1.8 million pilgrims took half within the hajj this 12 months, 1.6 million of them from overseas, based on Saudi authorities.
Unregistered pilgrims
Every year tens of hundreds of pilgrims try and carry out the hajj by way of irregular channels as they can not afford the customarily pricey procedures for official hajj visas.
This locations these off-the-books pilgrims in danger as they can not entry air-conditioned amenities supplied by Saudi authorities alongside the hajj route.
One of many diplomats who spoke to AFP on Tuesday stated that the Egyptian demise toll was “completely” boosted by a lot of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims.
“Irregular pilgrims brought on nice chaos within the Egyptian pilgrims’ camps, inflicting the collapse of companies,” stated an Egyptian official supervising the nation’s hajj mission.
“The pilgrims went with out meals, water, or air con for a very long time.”
They died “from the warmth as a result of most individuals had no place” to take shelter.
Earlier this month, Saudi officers stated that they had cleared a whole lot of hundreds of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca forward of the hajj.
Different international locations to report deaths through the hajj this 12 months embody Indonesia, Iran and Senegal.
Most international locations haven’t specified what number of deaths had been heat-related.
Saudi Well being Minister Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Jalajel stated on Tuesday that well being plans for the hajj had “been efficiently carried out”, stopping main outbreaks of illness and different public well being threats, the official Saudi Press Company reported.
Well being officers “supplied digital consultations to over 5,800 pilgrims, primarily for heat-related sicknesses, enabling immediate intervention and mitigating the potential for a surge in instances,” SPA stated.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)