1,301 pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia due to extreme heat during the Hajj season this year. Saudi Arabia has announced that 83 percent of the dead were unregistered Haj pilgrims. Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said “many” cases of heat stress had been reported. Some of them are still being treated. He said 1,301 pilgrims have died, 83 percent of whom were unauthorized pilgrims who had walked long distances to perform the Hajj rites in and around the holy city of Mecca in the scorching heat.
According to the report of the Associated Press, 98 pilgrims from India, 165 pilgrims from Indonesia, dozens of pilgrims from Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Malaysia and Algeria died due to extreme heat in the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Two American citizens are also reported to have been killed.
Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said that many elderly and seriously ill persons were reported to have died. He said unregistered pilgrims suffered the most in this scorching heat. Because they had no means of shelter or rest, they had to travel long distances in direct sunlight.
All the victims have been identified and their families have been informed.
The minister said that proper procedures were followed to identify the victims, bury them and issue their death certificates. Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel praised the efforts of the authorities, who worked to raise awareness about heat stress among pilgrims facing high temperatures.
He announced that health management was successful during the Hajj season and no outbreaks of widespread diseases or epidemics were reported, according to news agency Xinhua.
It is noteworthy that more than 4,65,000 Hajj pilgrims were provided special treatment arrangements including emergency care, surgery, dialysis etc. This includes up to 1,41,000 unauthorized pilgrims, who did not obtain official authorization to perform the Hajj.