Fourteen Jordanians died of sunstroke while performing the hajj in Saudi Arabia, Jordan’s foreign ministry said. Another 17 were missing. The ministry blamed “the extreme heatwave” and said it was working with Saudi authorities to bury the dead in the kingdom or fly them home.
Iran reported its own losses. Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent, said five Iranian pilgrims had died so far in Mecca and Medina. He did not say what killed them.
The thermometer in Mecca hit 47C (116.6F) on Sunday, and the same was forecast for Monday. Mohammed Al-Abdulaali, a Saudi health ministry spokesperson, told reporters that more than 2,760 pilgrims had been treated for sunstroke and heat stress that day alone. Saudi Arabia gave no information on deaths.
A hard walk in the sun
Many hajj rituals are done outdoors and on foot, which is hardest on elderly pilgrims. Temperatures have run well past 40C throughout the pilgrimage. The Saudi health ministry had issued an advisory on Thursday telling pilgrims to drink plenty of water and stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm.
The kingdom has set up climate-controlled areas, handed out water and advised pilgrims on shielding themselves from the sun. It also sent military medical units to treat heatstroke and set up rapid response teams. Authorities have upgraded the infrastructure heavily in recent years and keep a quota on visitors to Mecca.
The crowd is huge. The Saudi General Authority for Statistics expected more than 1.8 million Muslim pilgrims this year. The hajj was due to end on Wednesday, with the symbolic stoning of the devil on Sunday, the first day of Eid al-Adha, the riskiest part of the pilgrimage because of the numbers gathering.
Last year’s hajj was deadlier than usual. At least 240 people died, many of them Indonesian, according to figures announced by various countries that did not give causes of death. Over 10,000 heat-related illnesses were recorded, 10% of them heatstroke, a Saudi official told AFP.
Sources
- At least 14 pilgrims die during hajj pilgrimage amid soaring temperatures
- Saudi Arabia: 19 Hajj pilgrims die as temperatures rise
