68 Indians Among 922 Dead During Hajj Pilgrimage Due To Heatstroke; Death Toll Expected To Rise

Over 900 pilgrims have died and thousands are being treated for heatstroke while performing the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca due to extreme heat, various news reports have said.

As per news agency AFP, the figure reached 922 on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have not yet released official figures.

The temperatures are crossing 51 degrees Celsius in Saudi Arabia, and the pilgrimage is mostly outdoors. The death count is likely to rise, reports say.

The deaths include 41 Jordanians, 35 Tunisians and 11 Iranians, CNN reported. More than 600 Egyptians have died, reported AFP.

A diplomat in Saudi Arabia told AFP that 68 Indian nationals have died, although some of them might have died due to natural causes.

This year, around 18 lakh people are taking part in the Hajj in Mecca, which is a pilgrimage allowed exclusively for Muslims.

The date of the pilgrimage changes every year as per the Islamic calendar. This time, the pilgrimage is happening in June – one of the hottest months in the region.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia advised people to not do the ‘stoning the devil’ ritual due to extreme heat.

As per Quran, performing Hajj pilgrimage is one of the essential five pillars of Islam and must be carried out at least once in lifetime.

Reports say that deaths are not uncommon during Hajj. Last year, 200 pilgrims died. In the past, stampedes have caused fatalities. A 2015 stampede left over 2,400 pilgrims dead. Before that, a 1990 stampede killed more than 1,400 people.

Besides these reasons, tent fires and other accidents have caused hundreds of deaths in the past 30 years.