Egypt sets up field teams to search for missing Hajj pilgrims in Saudi hospitals

FILE – Pilgrims perform prayers as part of Hajj season 1445 AH – Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah

CAIRO – June 20, 2024: Cairo announced the creation of consulate field teams to carry out visits to hospitals in Mecca and holy sites to search for missing Egyptian pilgrims, the ministry said on Thursday of Foreign Affairs in a press release.

The mission of the field teams is to collect information on the pilgrims present in these hospitals, whether they are being treated or deceased, and to cross-reference it with the data provided by the families of the missing.

The teams also ensure that the necessary care is provided to patients.

In addition, a consular mission is stationed 24 hours a day at Arafat East Hospital and Muaisem Medical Complex.

The Egyptian Consulate General in Jeddah maintained continuous and continuous coordination with the official Egyptian Hajj Mission in Saudi Arabia before the start of the Hajj days, the ministry said.

This consulate strived to ensure the provision of comprehensive medical care, necessary preparations and arrangements to receive Egyptian pilgrims and monitor their condition.

However, the ministry said unregistered Egyptian pilgrims, available in significant numbers this year, made the mission more difficult.

“The presence of a large number of Egyptian citizens who are not registered in the Hajj database requires additional efforts and more time to locate missing persons and contact their families,” the ministry said.

The ministry has set up emergency rooms for rapid response, operational 24/7. Citizens can contact them at the following numbers:

Emergency room of the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah:
00966565702002

Consular sector emergencies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
27923050
27923060
27942782
01006638814

On Tuesday, Egypt's Hajj tourism mission said it had managed to find 142 lost Egyptian pilgrims, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

Many deaths

This year's Hajj season was marked by the deaths of at least 550 pilgrims, including 323 Egyptians, mainly due to extremely high temperatures, according to diplomats who spoke to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday. .

The bodies of the deceased are currently kept in the morgue of Mecca hospital.

The Hajj pilgrimage, which took place in 1445 A.H., attracted nearly 2 million pilgrims who endured scorching heat.

On Monday, temperatures in Mecca reached a staggering 52 degrees Celsius, as reported by Saudi Arabia's National Center of Meteorology (NCM).

One of the diplomats interviewed by AFP pointed out that the significant presence of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims this season played a significant role in the high number of deaths among Egyptians.

The influx of unregistered pilgrims has led to a breakdown in service provision.

An Egyptian official overseeing the Hajj mission in the country said: “The presence of irregular pilgrims has created immense chaos in Egyptian pilgrim camps, leading to a collapse of services provided. »

He further explained that pilgrims were deprived of basic necessities such as food, water and adequate shelter, leading to deaths due to extreme heat.