14 Jordanians dead, 17 missing during Hajj in Saudi Arabia, Jordan says

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 1 minute read

Fourteen Jordanians were reported dead during the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, some of them from heatstroke, while 17 others were missing, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. a statement.

At least six of the deaths are heat-related, the ministry said on Saturday, as temperatures were expected to reach 47 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in Mecca on Monday.

It was unclear on Sunday whether the higher death toll was also due to the heat.

The Hajj, which ends on Wednesday, is one of the largest mass gatherings in the world, with more than 1.8 million pilgrims expected this year, according to the Saudi General Authority of Statistics.

The dangerous component of Hajj

Stampedes, tent fires, heat and other factors have caused hundreds of deaths during the event over the past 30 years.

Muslim pilgrims take part in the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, June 16, 2024. (credit: Saleh Salem/Reuters)

The Saudi Health Ministry issued an advisory on Thursday warning of rising temperatures and advising pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid being outside during the hottest hours of the day, between 11:00 a.m. (08:00 GMT) and 3:00 p.m.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry is coordinating with Saudi authorities the procedures for burial or transportation of the bodies of the deceased according to the wishes of their families, it said on Sunday.

In 2015, a deadly crush at the Hajj near Mecca killed at least 2,070 people, according to a Reuters tally at the time.