Reports reveal that deceased pilgrims belong to over 10 countries, ranging from US to Indonesia
\n Makkah
\nThe death toll of pilgrims who had performed Hajj in extreme heat has now surpassed 1,300 and many among the deceased did not have official permits, AFP reported citing the official Saudi Press Agency.
\nThe SPA said: \u201cRegrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83% being unauthorised to perform Hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort.\u201d
\nWhile some governments are still updating their totals, it has been reported that the deceased pilgrims belonged to over 10 countries, ranging from the United States to Indonesia.
\nLast week, Arab diplomats had revealed that Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths, among whom 630 were unregistered pilgrims.
\nThey said that the cause of death in most cases was heat-related as temperatures in Makkah this year climbed as high as 51.8\u00b0C, according to Saudi Arabia\u2019s national meteorological centre.
\nRiyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or provided its own toll until Sunday.
\nHowever, on Friday, a senior Saudi official gave a partial toll of 577 deaths for the two busiest days of Hajj: June 15, when pilgrims gathered for hours of prayers in the blazing sun on Mount Arafat, and June 16, when they participated in the stoning of the devil ritual in Mina.
\nThe official also defended Riyadh\u2019s response, saying: \u201cThe state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks.\u201d
\nThe Saudi health minister, Fahd Al Jalajel, on Sunday described management of this year\u2019s Hajj as \u201csuccessful\u201d, SPA reported.
\nHe said the health system \u201cprovided more than 465,000 specialised treatment services, including 141,000 services to those who didn\u2019t obtain official authorisation to perform Hajj,\u201d according to SPA, which summarised an interview Al Jalajel gave to Saudi Arabia\u2019s Al Ekhbariya channel.
\nSaudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reports reveal that deceased pilgrims belong to over 10 countries, ranging from US to Indonesia Makkah The death toll of pilgrims who had performed Hajj in extreme heat has now surpassed 1,300 and many among the deceased did not have official permits, AFP reported citing the official Saudi Press Agency. The SPA said: \u201cRegrettably, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-414356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n