RIYADH: The death toll from this year's Haj has exceeded 1,000, a tally said on Thursday, more than half of them unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.
The new deaths reported on Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to a diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 Egyptians who passed away, 630 were unregistered pilgrims.
All told, around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once.
The figures have come via official statements or from diplomats working on their countries' responses.
The Haj, whose timing is determined by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell again this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.
The national meteorological centre reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
"People were tired after being chased by security forces before Arafat day. They were exhausted," one Arab diplomat said on Thursday, referring to Saturday's day-long outdoor prayers that marked the Haj's climax. The diplomat said the main cause of death among Egyptian pilgrims was the heat, which triggered complications related to high blood pressure and other issues.
In addition to Egypt, new fatalities were confirmed on Thursday by Pakistan and Indonesia.
Out of around 150,000 pilgrims, Pakistan has so far recorded 58 deaths, a diplomat briefed on the tally told reporters. "I think given the number of people, given the weather, this is just natural," the diplomat said.
Indonesia, which had around 240,000 pilgrims, raised its death toll to 183, according to the ministry of religious affairs, compared with 313 deaths recorded last year.
Deaths have also been confirmed by Malaysia, India, Jordan, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, Sudan and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. In many cases authorities have not specified the cause.
Meanwhile friends and family members have been searching for pilgrims who are still missing.
On Wednesday they scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst during the scorching temperatures.
Two diplomats said that on Thursday that Saudi authorities had begun the burial process for dead pilgrims, which involves cleaning up the bodies, putting them in white burial cloth and taking them to be interred in individual graves. — AFP
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