Hajj Pilgrims Death In Mecca: 645 pilgrims who went to perform Hajj in Mecca, one of the holiest places for Muslims, died in the scorching heat. 68 of them are Indians. This information was given by a Saudi Arabian diplomat on Wednesday (19 June). He said that 68 Indian citizens died during the Hajj pilgrimage this year, taking the total death toll to more than 600.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomat told news agency AFP, “We have confirmed the death of about 68 people. Some have died due to natural causes and there were many elderly pilgrims with us and some have died due to weather, this is our estimate.” This new figure has come to light when two Arab diplomats told AFP on Tuesday that 550 deaths have been recorded during Haj.
Did heat cause death?
Arab diplomats said the figure included 323 Egyptians and 60 Jordanians. One diplomat also clarified that all the Egyptians died “due to heat”. Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region have also confirmed deaths, although in many cases officials have not clarified the cause. According to AFP, a total of 645 people have died so far.
Last year also more than 200 passengers died
More than 200 pilgrims were reported dead last year, most of them from Indonesia. Saudi Arabia has not provided a tally of deaths, though it reported more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone.
The diplomat who confirmed the Indian deaths said some Indian pilgrims were also missing, but declined to give the exact number. “This happens every year. We cannot say that this year it is unusually high. It is similar to last year, but we will get more information in the coming days,” he said.
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