The toll continues to rise. According to Agence France Presse, nearly 1,000 pilgrims died during the great Muslim pilgrimage held in Saudi Arabia in scorching heat. In total, 1,081 deaths were reported by around ten countries, officially or via diplomats involved in the search for victims, said AFP this Friday, June 21.
The cause of most of these deaths remains the very high heat in Saudi Arabia during this pilgrimage. Sunday alone recorded more than 27,000 cases of heat exhaustion, according to the Saudi Ministry of Health.
Crushing heat
This Muslim pilgrimage, which took place from June 14 to 19, took place this year a few days before the start of summer, in one of the hottest regions on the planet. It brought together nearly 1.8 million people under temperatures reaching 51.8°C in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. The rituals took place once again this year under very high temperatures.
Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey and even Jordan have reported deaths among their nationals. Of around 150,000 pilgrims, Pakistan has recorded 58 deaths so far, according to a diplomat. Indonesia, which had around 240,000 pilgrims, reported a new death toll of 183, compared to 313 last year.
Many people were still searching for news of missing pilgrims in hospitals or through social media at the weekend. According to two diplomats, the Saudi authorities, who have not provided information on the deaths, have begun steps to bury the bodies. Last year, countries reported more than 300 deaths during the hajj, mostly Indonesians. This year, Egypt is facing a very high number of deaths, including 658 who died during the hajj.
Pilgrims without permits
Among the dead, many pilgrims did not have official authorization to be on the site. Each year, tens of thousands of faithful attempt to participate in the pilgrimage without having the necessary permits, paid for and granted according to quotas, which give access in particular to air-conditioned facilities. In early June, Saudi Arabia announced that its forces had turned back more than 300,000 unregistered pilgrims from Mecca, including 153,998 foreigners who entered the kingdom on tourist visas, without going through official channels.
However, it seems that a large number of unauthorized pilgrims managed to participate in the rituals which took place over several days, in particularly trying conditions. “People were tired of having been chased by security forces before the day of the (ritual at Mount) Arafat” on Saturday, “they were exhausted,” an Arab diplomat told AFP on Thursday, requesting anonymity.