RIYADH: The dying toll from this yr’s Haj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally mentioned on Thursday (Jun 20), greater than half of them unregistered worshippers who carried out the pilgrimage in excessive warmth in Saudi Arabia.
The brand new deaths reported on Thursday included 58 from Egypt, in keeping with an Arab diplomat who supplied a breakdown exhibiting that of 658 whole useless from that nation, 630 have been unregistered.
Round 10 nations 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 at the least as soon as.
The figures have come by way of official statements or from diplomats engaged on their nations’ responses.
The Haj, whose timing is set by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell once more this yr in the course of the oven-like Saudi summer season.
The nationwide meteorological centre reported a excessive of 51.8 levels Celsius earlier this week on the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
In keeping with a Saudi research revealed final month, temperatures within the space are rising 0.4 levels Celsius every decade.
Every year tens of hundreds of pilgrims try to carry out the Haj by irregular channels as they can not afford the usually expensive official permits.
Saudi authorities reported clearing a whole lot 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 authorised pilgrims to chill down after hours of strolling and praying outdoors.
“Folks have been drained after being chased by safety forces earlier than Arafat day. They have been exhausted,” one Arab diplomat advised AFP on Thursday, referring to Saturday’s day-long outside prayers that marked the Haj’s climax.
