68 Indians among 645 Hajj pilgrims who died in Mecca this year: Reports
A Saudi diplomat reportedly said that some of the deaths were due to natural causes while others were due to the high temperatures that pilgrims had to endure.
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Sixty-eight Indian nationals were among the 645 persons who died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca city this year, which was marked by soaring temperatures, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the five key obligations of Islam that Muslims with the means to do so are expected to fulfill at least once in their lifetime. The dates of the Hajj are determined by the position of the moon according to the Islamic lunar calendar. The ritual lasts several days and ends in Mecca.
The pilgrimage this year began on June 14 and ended on Wednesday.
Temperatures rose to as high as 51.8 degree Celsius in Mecca on Monday, Reuters reported citing a Saudi state-run news agency.
The Saudi government reported over 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” during the day on Sunday.
“We have confirmed around 68 [Indians] dead [during the pilgrimage],” an unidentified Saudi diplomat told AFP. “Some [deaths] are because of natural causes and we had many old-age pilgrims. And some are due to the weather conditions, that’s what we assume.”
The diplomat also said that a few pilgrims from India were missing, AFP reported. However, he did not provide an exact number. “This happens every year...We can’t say that it is abnormally high this year,” he said.
On Tuesday, two...
