NEW DELHI: As many as 80 Indians have been confirmed among the hundreds dead during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah. Additionally, concerns mount over the whereabouts of several Indian pilgrims reported missing, with the true extent of the toll yet to be determined.
The total fatalities, estimated to be over 550 so far, are primarily attributed to extreme heat and age-related factors and underscore the challenges faced during the annual ritual.
Nine of the deceased Indians were from Jammu and Kashmir, with most succumbing to old age or heat-related causes, while two fatalities resulted from road accidents, according to a source.
Temperatures on Tuesday reached 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mecca and the sacred sites in and around the city, according to the Saudi National Centre for Meteorology. Onlookers saw some people faint while trying to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil.
At the Grand Mosque in Mecca, temperatures reached 51.8 °C (125 °F) on Monday, though pilgrims had already left for Mina, authorities said.
Muslims from across the world go for this five-day pilgrimage every year. This year, nearly 1.8 million people went to Hajj. There were close to 1.75 lakh Indians who went on Hajj this year, which commenced on June 13.
India has extended all possible support to make the stay of the Hajjis comfortable and even facilitated their transfer from Riyadh to Makkah on a high-speed train.
Every year, a significant number of elderly pilgrims pass away during the Hajj pilgrimage, with some fulfilling it as a final wish. Moreover, scorching temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius under which these pilgrims walk often result in heat strokes and dehydration, contributing to such unfortunate incidents.
Meanwhile, Egypt bore the highest toll of these fatalities, with over 300 pilgrims reported deceased. Similarly, fatalities among their citizens have been confirmed by Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, and Kurdistan.
Saudi Arabia has not released any official figures of the death toll, despite reporting over 2,700 cases of heat exhaustion on June 16.
Notably, there were more than 200 pilgrims who died in 2023, mostly from Indonesia. It may be recalled that in 2006, more than 300 people died of stampede and over 2,200 in 2015.