{"id":78355,"date":"2024-06-21T20:56:10","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T20:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/21\/official-death-toll-from-hajj-pilgrimage-climbs-into-the-hundreds\/"},"modified":"2024-06-21T20:56:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T20:56:10","slug":"official-death-toll-from-hajj-pilgrimage-climbs-into-the-hundreds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/21\/official-death-toll-from-hajj-pilgrimage-climbs-into-the-hundreds\/","title":{"rendered":"Official Death Toll From Hajj Pilgrimage Climbs Into the Hundreds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/21\/multimedia\/21hajji-deaths-1-zgql\/21hajji-deaths-1-zgql-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Official Death Toll From Hajj Pilgrimage Climbs Into the Hundreds\" title=\"Official Death Toll From Hajj Pilgrimage Climbs Into the Hundreds\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, one of the most important events on the Muslim calendar, at least 450 died under a scorching sun as they prayed at sacred sites around the holy city of Mecca.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Amid maximum temperatures<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>that ranged from 108 Fahrenheit and 120, according to preliminary data, and throngs of people, many passed out and needed medical care. The pilgrims, some who have saved their whole lives for the hajj, spend days walking and sleeping in tents during their journey to Mecca, the holist city for Muslims. The hajj is one of Islam\u2019s five pillars, and all Muslims who are physically or financially able are obliged to embark on the pilgrimage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Indonesia has so far reported the most deaths, 199, and India reported 98. The countries said at this point that they could not be sure that heat was the cause of all the deaths, though, relatives of the missing and dead and tour operators have said the heat was at least a contributing factor. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The number of dead is expected to rise as neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt, where many pilgrims come from, have released death tolls for their citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Egypt is alarmed enough that it has set up crisis centers to receive distress calls and coordinate the government\u2019s response as families brace for a high death toll as many people have been reported missing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This year, more than 1.8 million Muslims traveled to Mecca, with 1.6 million of them from outside Saudi Arabia, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stats.gov.sa\/en\/news\/532\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics<\/a>.<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many complained that there were not enough cooling stations or water for all the pilgrims, and there were early reports that part of the problem was that many people did not officially register for the pilgrimage, possibly to avoid the steep costs of hajj package tours.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many of the pilgrims are older people who have spent years saving up to travel to the holy city. In the days before and during the holy period of Eid al-Adha, pilgrims visit several holy sites, including circling the Kaaba, and praying on Mount Arafat. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On a hajj Facebook group with more than 900,000 members, Egyptians posted appeals for their missing relatives. In one, a woman left a message for her mother: \u201cMom, It\u2019s me Rabab. I\u2019ll wait for you outside King Khaled\u2019s Bridge \u2026 Please see this post. I am dying for you. You\u2019re the light of my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other countries reporting death tolls include Jordan, Tunisia and Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Jordan\u2019s foreign ministry said 75 pilgrims had died \u201cas a result of the intense heat wave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tunisia\u2019s minister of Religious Affairs, Ibrahim Chaibi, said that 49 Tunisians had died. He said that number was expected to rise as the number of pilgrims traveling on tourist visas became more clear, according to Tunisia\u2019s state-run news agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One Egyptian tour operator said that because of increasing fees for hajj package tours, as well as the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, many pilgrims opted for tourist visas, which had burdened the facilities set up in Mecca and the surrounding holy sites.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The man, who spoke from Mecca, described severe conditions for unregistered pilgrims. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because of security concerns, he said unregistered pilgrims had no tents and were exposed to extreme heat. He said there were too few buses, so many pilgrims walked distances of more than 12 miles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hind Hassan, from Egypt, said her aunt Safa Tawab died during the hajj and that the tour company that arranged her trip hid the news until the family found her name on a list of the deceased published online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A friend who had accompanied Ms. Tawab, 55, told the family that the pilgrimage was like \u201cwalking in the road of death because of the heat and the lack of water,\u201d Ms. Hassan said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mahmoud Qassem, a member of Egypt\u2019s Parliament, blamed dubious tour operators for \u201cthe exposure of Egyptian pilgrims to deception and fraud by tourism companies,\u201d calling for a police investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Islamic Relief, a global aid agency based in London, has warned about the impact of climate change on the hajj since 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShould the world\u2019s emissions continue in a business-as-usual scenario, temperatures in Mecca will rise to levels that the human body cannot cope with,\u201d Shahin Ashraf, the organization\u2019s head of global advocacy, said in an emailed statement on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Pakistan, which has lost at least 35 people, according to official figures, mourners gathered to honor their dead. Dozens of people in Chaman, a city in Balochistan Province along Pakistan\u2019s border with Afghanistan, offered condolences outside the house of Abdul Bari Kakar. Mr. Kakar, 49, ran a gas cylinder shop and had saved up for months to make what was his third trip, his relatives said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He chose to go \u201cto pray for his grandfather who passed away years ago,\u201d his son, Sardar Wali, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are saddened by his death,\u201d he said, \u201cbut he was fortunate to have died in the holy land.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Hager Elhakeem contributed reporting from Luxor, Egypt, <!-- -->Christina Goldbaum<!-- --> and Zia ur-Rehman contributed from Pakistan, <!-- -->Muktita Suhartono<!-- --> from Indonesia and <!-- -->Judson Jones<!-- --> reported from Atlanta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/21\/world\/middleeast\/saudi-arabia-hajj-pilgrimage-heat-death.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, one of the most important events on the Muslim calendar, at least 450 died under a scorching sun as they prayed at sacred sites around the holy city of Mecca. Amid maximum temperatures that ranged from 108 Fahrenheit and 120, according to preliminary data, and throngs of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/21\/multimedia\/21hajji-deaths-1-zgql\/21hajji-deaths-1-zgql-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12232,1860,67791,407,2008,7121,11469],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78355"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78357,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78355\/revisions\/78357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}