EGN NEWS DESK
Dozens of individuals have died amid scorching temperatures through the annual hajj pilgrimage to the holy metropolis of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in line with reviews from official media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
With forecasts saying that temperatures would high 113 levels Fahrenheit, or 45 levels Celsius, on Tuesday, Saudi officers issued advisories to pilgrims urging them to remain hydrated, reduce out of doors actions, and carry umbrellas to dam direct daylight.
While Saudi Arabia had not reported deaths, information reviews from a lot of nations whose trustworthy went to the hajj instructed that the warmth had confirmed lethal.
On Sunday, Jordan’s official information company mentioned that 14 pilgrims had died from publicity to excessive solar and warmth. On Wednesday, the company mentioned that burial permits had been issued for 41 Jordanian pilgrims in Mecca, however didn’t present particulars on the causes of dying.
Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry mentioned not less than 35 Tunisians had died, the state-run Agence Tunis Afrique Presse reported on Tuesday, noting the “sharp rise in temperatures” and “scorching solar” that had accompanied the hajj.
The Russian state information company TASS reported the deaths of 4 residents from “pure causes associated to well being and age.” Three pilgrims from Senegal additionally died, in line with an announcement from the nation’s Foreign Ministry, with out citing a reason for dying.
And Egypt’s Foreign Ministry mentioned consular employees in Saudi Arabia had been working “across the clock” to assist facilitate burials and searches for lacking Egyptian pilgrims, with out giving an quantity.
Saudi ministries didn’t instantly reply to questions concerning the reviews of deaths.
Muslims journey to Mecca from world wide every year to carry out the five-day pilgrimage, which ends Wednesday. The hajj is likely one of the 5 pillars of Islam — and all Muslims who’re financially and bodily ready should carry out the ritual not less than as soon as of their lives.
The first hajj passed off in 632. The pilgrimage is now one of many world’s largest Muslim gatherings. Over the years, it been stricken by a lot of calamities, from stampedes to fires to outbreaks of illness. A stampede on a bridge in 2006 killed greater than 300 folks and one other in 2015 killed greater than 2,200 folks.
Many pilgrims, who are sometimes older, have additionally skilled warmth stress in recent times, with scores dying from the warmth.
On Tuesday, Saudi officers billed this 12 months’s hajj season a “success,” with state media reporting that the well being minister, Fahd al-Jalajel expressing “specific satisfaction with the actual fact that there have been no outbreaks or different public well being threats regardless of the numerous variety of pilgrims and the challenges posed by excessive temperatures.”
The authorities additionally cited “superior cooling techniques” and the “constant availability” of water for pilgrims for making certain a “easy and safe hajj for all.”
Hwaida Saad contributed reporting.
