The dead from this year’s Hajj exceeded 1,000 AFP The tally said on Thursday, more than half of them were unregistered worshipers who made the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.
The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided an analysis showing that of the 658 total deaths from that country, 630 were unaccounted for.
About 10 countries have reportedly reported 1,081 deaths during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once.
The figures come from official statements or from diplomats working on their countries’ responses.
The Hajj, whose time is determined by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell again this year during Saudi Arabia’s oven-like summer.
The national meteorological center reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) earlier this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
According to a Saudi study published last month, temperatures in the region are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius every decade.
Each year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the Hajj through informal channels, as they cannot afford the often expensive official permits.
Saudi authorities said they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca earlier this month, but it appears many were still taking part in the main ceremonies that began last Friday.
This group was most vulnerable to the heat because, without official permits, they could not access air-conditioned spaces provided by Saudi authorities to cool the 1.8 million authorized pilgrims after hours of walking and praying outside.
“People were tired after being chased by security forces before Arafat’s day. They were exhausted,” said an Arab diplomat. AFP on Thursday, referring to the daily open-air Saturday prayers that marked the culmination of the Hajj.
The diplomat said the main cause of death among Egyptian pilgrims was the heat, which triggered complications related to high blood pressure and other issues.
In addition to Egypt, deaths have also been confirmed from Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, although in many cases authorities have not have clarified the cause.
Friends and family members are searching for pilgrims who are still missing.
On Wednesday they scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst during the scorching temperatures.
Saudi Arabia has not provided information for deaths, although it reported more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone.
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