At least 450 people have died in Saudi Arabia as they prayed in the blazing sun at shrines around the holy city of Mecca during the annual Hajj, one of the most important events on the Muslim calendar.
In the highest temperature The temperature was between 108 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit, according to preliminary data, and the crowds were so dense that many people fainted and needed medical attention. The pilgrims, some of whom have dedicated their lives to the Hajj, spend days walking and sleeping in tents on their way to the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is required for all Muslims who are physically or financially able to participate.
Indonesia has reported the most deaths so far, with 199, while India has reported 98. Both countries have said they are not sure if heat is to blame for all the deaths, though relatives of the missing and dead and tour operators say it is at least a factor.
The death toll is expected to rise as neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt, the source countries of many pilgrims, have released figures on the number of deaths among their citizens.
Egypt is deeply concerned and has set up a crisis center to receive calls for help and coordinate the government’s response. Many people are reported missing and the families of the victims are facing the risk of a large number of deaths.
This year, more than 1.8 million Muslims traveled to Mecca, 1.6 million of whom were from countries other than Saudi Arabia. According to data from the Saudi General Statistics Authority.
Many complained that there were not enough cooling stations or water supplies for all the pilgrims, and early reports suggested part of the problem was that many people had not officially registered for the pilgrimage, perhaps to avoid the high costs of group tours.
Many of the pilgrims are elderly people who have spent years saving money to make the journey to the holy city. Before and during Eid al-Adha, pilgrims visit several holy sites, including circumambulating the Kaaba and praying on Mount Arafat.
In a Hajj Facebook group with more than 900,000 members, Egyptians posted appeals to find missing relatives. In one message, a woman left a message for her mother: “Mom, I’m Rabab. I’ll be waiting for you outside King Khalid Bridge… Please read this post. I died for you. You were the light in my eyes.”
Other countries reporting deaths include Jordan, Tunisia and Pakistan.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said 75 pilgrims had died “due to the intense heat wave”.
Tunisia’s Minister of Religious Affairs Ibrahim Chaabi said 49 Tunisians had been killed. He said the death toll was expected to rise as it became clearer about the number of pilgrims travelling on tourist visas, according to Tunisia’s state news agency.
An Egyptian travel agency operator said that due to the rising cost of Hajj tours and the depreciation of the Egyptian pound, many pilgrims are choosing to apply for tourist visas, which has put a burden on facilities in Mecca and surrounding holy sites.
The man from Mecca described the dire conditions for unregistered pilgrims. He spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons, saying they have no tents and endure scorching heat. He said many pilgrims have to walk more than 12 miles because there are too few buses.
Hind Hassan from Egypt said her aunt Safa Tawab died during the Hajj and the travel agency that arranged her trip concealed the news until the family found her name on a list of the dead published online.
Ms. Hassan said a friend accompanying Ms. Tawab, 55, told her family that the pilgrimage was like “walking on the road to death because of the heat and lack of water.”
Egyptian parliament member Mahmoud Qassem accused dubious travel agencies of “subjecting Egyptian pilgrims to deception and fraud by travel companies” and called on police to launch an investigation.
Islamic Relief, a London-based global aid agency, has been warning about the impact of climate change on the Hajj since 2019.
“If global emissions continue on their current course, temperatures in Mecca will rise to levels that are unbearable for the human body,” Shaheen Ashraf, the group’s global advocacy director, said in an emailed statement Friday.
At least 35 people were killed in Pakistan, according to official figures, as mourners gathered to honor the dead. Dozens of people paid their respects outside the home of Abdul Bari Kakar in Chaman, a city in Pakistan’s Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan. Relatives of Kakar, a 49-year-old gas cylinder shop owner, said he had been saving money for months to pay his third visit.
His son, Sardar Wali, said he chose to go “to pray for his grandfather who passed away many years ago.”
“We are deeply saddened by his passing, but he was lucky to die in the Holy Land,” he said.
Hager Elhakeem reports from Luxor, Egypt. Christina Goldbaum Zia ur-Rehman from Pakistan also contributed. Suhartono From Indonesia and Judson Jones Reporting from Atlanta.
