At least 550 pilgrims of different nationalities died this week during the rites of the annual ritual pilgrimage or “haj” to the Saudi city of Mecca due to causes related to high temperatures, which reached 51.8 degrees on some days, several sources reported this Wednesday.
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A medical source told Efe, on condition of anonymity, that so far The number of bodies in the Al Muaisem morgue, the largest in Mecca, is 550, although he did not rule out that this number would rise during this day, which puts an end to this year’s pilgrimage.
He added that “at least “325 Egyptian pilgrims (of the total number of deaths) died during the pilgrimage in Mecca this year.”most of them due to causes related to temperature, which according to the Saudi National Meteorological Center It ranged between 45 and almost 52 degrees in the hottest hours, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
All the pilgrims died due to the heat, except for one person who was fatally injured during a simple stampede.
Likewise, he confirmed that At least 60 Jordanian pilgrims also died, a figure that increases the number published on Tuesday by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry. which issued 41 permits to bury pilgrims from the Hashemite kingdom in Mecca at the request of the families.
“All the pilgrims died due to the heat, except for one person who was fatally injured during a simple stampede among a crowd of pilgrims,” ​​he explained.
According to this source, The number of deaths among Egyptian pilgrims increased because a large number of them were not registered with the official delegation, that he was not aware of the presence of these fellow citizens who traveled at their own expense.
So far, the Iranian delegation also reported the death of eleven Iranians from heat stroke, while another 26 remain hospitalized; At the same time, official Tunisian sources reported the death of 35 of their citizens who were carrying out the pilgrimage.
Arabia had reported this Monday more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone.
It seemed like the Last Judgment, the end of the world. It was a very difficult day
The heat was such that on Monday, in Minapilgrims sprinkled their heads with water while authorities distributed cool drinks and quickly melting ice cream.
The Saudi Ministry of Health also recommended that pilgrims respect the use of umbrellas and parasols to avoid heat stroke and sunstroke and advised the continuous drinking of drinking water to ensure hydration, especially among vulnerable people, as well as asking to avoid crowds. of the main places of worship.
Azza Hamid Brahim, a 61-year-old Egyptian, He claimed to have seen motionless bodies on the side of the road when he was going to and returning from the stelae representing Satan. “It seemed like the Last Judgment, the end of the world. It was a very difficult day,” he stressed.
At least 240 pilgrims, mostly Indonesians, died in last year’s hajj.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and Muslims who can must perform it at least once in their life. It is a source of prestige and legitimacy for Saudi Arabia, whose king bears the title of “Guardian of the two holy mosques” of Mecca and Medina.
This year it brought together 1.8 million faithful, 1.6 million of them from other countries, according to Saudi authorities.
Visas for Mecca are issued by Saudi Arabia according to a quota system per country. Many believers, lacking the means to obtain them, manage to reach the place, but cannot access the air-conditioned facilities to mitigate the effect of the heat.
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