“We have confirmed around 68 dead… Some 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 told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Indian government has not issued any official statement on the death toll during the Hajj pilgrimage yet.
The updated death toll was reported after two Arab diplomats informed AFP on Tuesday that 550 fatalities had been recorded during the hajj. This pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, is an obligation for all Muslims who have the financial and physical capability to undertake it at least once in their lifetime.
According to the Arab diplomats, the total included 323 Egyptians and 60 Jordanians, with one diplomat noting that almost all the Egyptians succumbed “due to heat.”
Deaths have also been reported by Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, though in many instances, the authorities have not disclosed the exact causes.
Last year, most of the 200 dead pilgrims were from Indonesia. Saudi Arabia has not disclosed the number of fatalities but reported over 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone.
“This happens every year… We can’t say that it is abnormally high this year. It’s somewhat similar to last year but we will know more in the coming days,” the diplomat who confirmed the Indian fatalities said. He also stated that some Indian pilgrims were missing too, but refused to provide an exact number.
In recent years, the hajj has occurred during the intensely hot Saudi summer. A Saudi study published last month indicated that temperatures in the region where the rituals are conducted increase by 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) every decade.
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