Over 550 Haj pilgrims die of heatstroke in Makkah

Riyadh: Over 550 Haj pilgrims died due to heatstroke, as temperatures soared in recent days, officials said on Tuesday, June 18.

According to officials who are coordinating, at least 323 Egyptians perished, the majority of whom died from heat-related ailments.

One of the diplomats stated that “all of them (the Egyptians) died because of heat,” with the exception of one who died from injuries he received due to crowding. The overall number of deaths was derived from the hospital mortuary in the Al-Muaisem district of Makkah.

According to an AFP count, the additional deaths increase the total number of deaths recorded by various nations to 577.

The number of deaths reported at Al-Muaisem mortuary, one of Makkah’s largest, was 550, said authorities.

On Monday, temperatures in Makkah’s Grand Mosque reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit), according to the Saudi national weather centre.

Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the haj this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.

Saudi authorities have reported treating more than 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stress but have not updated that figure since Sunday and have not provided information on fatalities.

At least 240 pilgrims were reported dead by various countries last year, most of them Indonesians.