Hajj 2024: Tragedy as 19 Pilgrims Confirmed Dead, 17 Missing in Saudi Arabia
- Authorities from Jordan and Iran reported on Sunday, June 16, that at least 19 pilgrims from their countries died during the Hajj pilgrimage
- Jordan's foreign ministry announced that 14 Jordanian pilgrims died, and 17 others went missing
- Separately, Iranian Red Crescent Chief Pirhossein Koolivand reported that five Iranian pilgrims lost their lives in Mecca and Medina during the 2024 Hajj
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Makkah, Saudi Arabia - Authorities from Jordan and Iran reported on Sunday, June 16, that at least 19 pilgrims from their countries died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia amid soaring temperatures in the region.
Jordan's foreign ministry announced that 14 Jordanian pilgrims died and 17 others went missing while performing Hajj rituals.
Source: Getty Images
The ministry later confirmed that the 14 pilgrims succumbed to “sunstroke due to the extreme heat wave.”
Iranian report on 5 deaths
Separately, Iranian Red Crescent Chief, Pirhossein Koolivand, reported that “Five Iranian pilgrims lost their lives so far in Mecca and Medina during the Hajj this year,” without specifying the causes of death, Punch reported.
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The Hajj, one of the largest religious gatherings globally, is a mandatory pilgrimage for all Muslims who can perform it at least once in their lifetime, being one of the five pillars of Islam.
Temperature challenge during Hajj
This year, temperatures during the pilgrimage exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), impacting around 1.8 million participating Muslims.
Many rituals' outdoor and on-foot nature poses significant challenges, particularly for the elderly.
Saudi Arabia has not released any information on fatalities.
However, the kingdom has implemented several heat mitigation measures, such as climate-controlled areas, water distribution, and advice to pilgrims on sun protection.
Nigerian death tolls at Mecca
Two pilgrims from Kwara state, Salman Alade and Ayishat Ologele, reportedly died while on pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
These deaths were among thousands of Nigerians who travelled for the hajj pilgrimage, bringing the death toll among Kwara pilgrims to four, following the earlier deaths of Saliu Mohammed and Hawawu Mohammed in Madinah.
She was said to have jumped from her rooftop in Madina, Saudi Arabia.
This was as a Lagos State Hajj pilgrim, Idris Oloshogbo, passed away in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Nigerian Tribune reported.
Recorded fatalities in Hajj 2023
Last year’s hajj saw at least 240 fatalities, many from Indonesia, as reported by various countries without specifying causes of death.
More than 10,000 heat-related illnesses were recorded, with 10% being heat strokes.
A Saudi study indicated that regional temperatures rise by 0.4 degrees Celsius each decade, suggesting that worsening heat may outpace current mitigation efforts.
Nigerian female pilgrim dies in Madina
On Sunday, June 9, the Kwara State Muslim Pilgrims Board stated that an investigation conducted by Saudi Arabian authorities into the death of one of its pilgrims revealed that the pilgrim committed death in Madina.
According to the statement, another pilgrim from the state also died in Madina.
One of the deceased, identified simply as Hajia Hawawu, died as a result of what the Saudi authorities found to be “an unfortunate suicidal episode from the rooftop of her apartment in Madina.”
It further stated that the other pilgrim who died in Madina, Saliu Mohammed, died in an intensive care unit of a public hospital in Madina after suddenly falling ill.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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