‘Bodies on the ground: Pilgrims recount haj heat horrors

Tally shows Egypt accounts for over half of the more than 1,000 fatalities so far this year

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After years of failing to secure a haj visa, Mr Yasser finally concluded he had no choice but to perform the holy pilgrimage illegally, a move he now regrets.

While he survived the gruelling annual rites that unfolded in extreme heat again in 2024, he has not seen his wife Safaa since June 16 and fears she is among the more than 1,000 reported fatalities - the majority unregistered Egyptians like himself.

"I have searched every single hospital in Mecca. She's not there," the 60-year-old retired engineer said on June 21 by phone from his hotel room, where he is reluctant to pack his wife's suitcase, hoping that she will return to do it herself.

"I don't want to believe in this possibility that she's dead. Because if she's dead, it's the end of her life and also the end of my life".

Egypt accounts for more than half of the haj fatalities in 2024 658 out of more than 1,000 reported as at June 21 by around 10 countries stretching from Senegal to Indonesia, according to an AFP tally.

An Arab diplomat said that 630 of those 658 dead Egyptians were unregistered, meaning they could not rely on access to amenities that make the pilgrimage more bearable.

That included air-conditioned tents meant to offer some relief as temperatures soared to as high as 51.8 deg C at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam.