98 Indians died in this year’s Hajj Pilgrimage; death toll crosses 1300

MECCA: Saudi officials have informed that the death toll in the hajj pilgrimage has crossed 1300. A total of 98 Indians has died while performing hajj pilgrimage due to the extreme heat wave. Saudi Arabia Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al Jalajel said that 83 percent of the 1,301 people who died were illegal pilgrims. They came to perform the Hajj after walking a long distance in extreme heat. He stated that 95 pilgrims are being treated in hospitals and some of them have been airlifted to Riyadh.

The authorities also pointed that many of the pilgrims who lost lives did not have identification documents. This causes delay in identifying the bodies. The Health Minister also informed that the dead were buried in Mecca. About 600 of them are reported to be from Egypt. All but 31 of them are illegal pilgrims. It is reported that Egypt has revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies who illegally transported pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities have announced that strict action will be taken against the illegal pilgrims.

It has also been found that 165 of the dead were from Indonesia. Two US citizens were also reported dead. Many collapsed and died in the extreme heat. Some said that they fainted after vomiting.

Mecca is experiencing the worst heat ever. The temperature exceeded 50 degrees Celsius. A study conducted by Saudi researchers pointed that the region is warming by 0.4 degrees Celsius every decade.

48 degrees Celsius was recorded during the pilgrimage season last year. 200 pilgrims died due to extreme heat last year. There are also reports that 2,000 people are suffering from various heat-related ailments.