Saudi Arabia reported this Sunday that More than 1,300 people died during the hajj pilgrimage due to the intense heat and he stated that the majority of those who died did not have official permission.
According to the criteria of
“Unfortunately, the number of fatalities was 1,301 and 83% did not have authorization to perform the hajj and walk long distances, exposed directly to the sun, without adequate conditions,” the official Saudi agency indicated.
Earlier this Sunday, some 1,200 fatalities were counted, more than half of them Egyptian nationals, in a ritual marked this year by high temperatures, which have touched 52 degrees in Saudi Arabia.
Health and security sources in Egypt early indicated to EFE that the number of deceased Muslim faithful of Egyptian nationality rose to at least 672. The vast majority of them traveled “irregularly.”
The Egyptian Government has confirmed the death of at least 31 pilgrims who were traveling on the official mission to Saudi Arabia, but he has admitted that there is a “high number” of dead faithful among those who entered the holy city without being registered.
Muslims in the Great Mosque of Mecca.
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Each country is offering data on deaths among pilgrims and, according to a count carried out this Sunday after learning of the increase in deaths among Egyptians, the figure has increased to more than 1,200.
Indonesia is the second most affected country with around 200 deaths among pilgrims and is followed by Indiawhich has recorded 98 deaths, and Jordan, with 75 deaths, all due to “extreme heat.”
However, the vast majority of countries that have reported fatalities during the pilgrimage do not indicate the reasons for the deaths.
(FILES) A Muslim pilgrim splashes water on his head to cool off at the base of Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma.
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A crisis in Egypt
According to one of the Egyptian sources, Some tourism agencies organized ‘haj’ programs with a personal visit visa, “which prevents its holders from entering Mecca.”
“This forces them to look for other routes through the desert on foot, without having decent accommodation in other areas of the ‘haj’ rituals, which caused unregistered pilgrims to be exposed to fatigue and high temperatures,” he stated. .
This forces them to look for other routes through the desert on foot, without having decent accommodation in other areas of the ‘haj’ rituals, which caused unregistered pilgrims to be exposed to fatigue and high temperatures.
On Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuli ordered the withdrawal of the license of 16 agencies that organized “irregular” trips to the Haj after a meeting of the crisis cell created to follow up on this issue.
The Chief Executive added the difficulty of counting the Egyptians who entered irregularly to make the pilgrimage to Mecca as they were not registered.
The countries have an official mission in which the people who make it up have the permits and visas that Saudi Arabia issues exclusively for the ritual.
However, due to the high price of this trip, which has an average cost of $5,000 per person, many opt for other routes that the Saudi kingdom considers illegal.
Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun as they arrive at the base of Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the annual pilgrimage.
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These faithful who traveled unofficially, for example with a tourist visa, did not have access to the air-conditioned facilities and tents during the pilgrimage.so their only refuges were the streets of the holiest city in Islam from the extreme heat.
The Saudi kingdom, which has celebrated the “success” of the pilgrimage and which spends millions of dollars to accommodate the faithful, has not so far reacted to the information about the deaths.
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