Hundreds of pilgrims die in intense Saudi Arabia heat

Hundreds have died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, with temperatures as high as 51C recorded this week.

- SAMY MAGDY

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the death toll during the pilgrimage - a ritual that every able Muslim is required to undertake once in their life - nor offered any cause of death for those who have died. However, hundreds of people lined up at the emergency complex in the neighbourhood of al-Muaisem in Mecca, trying to get information about their missing family members.

One list circulating online suggested that at least 550 people died during the five-day Hajj. One medic, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not released publicly by the government, said that the names listed appeared to be genuine. That medic and another official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said they believed there were at least 600 bodies at the facility. The list of names did not specify cause of death.

At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, according to two Arab diplomats tasked with coordinating their countries’ responses. “All of [the Egyptians] died because of heat” except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one of the diplomats said.

One hundred and forty-four Indonesian citizens died during Hajj, according to data the Indonesian health ministry shared on Tuesday. The data did not specify whether any of the deaths were due to heat stroke.