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Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Somali pilgrims arrive in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Image credit: MERA
MOGADISHU (HOL) – Extreme heat in Saudi Arabia has killed 550 pilgrims, including six Somali nationals, during this year’s Hajj, according to the Somali Ministry of Religion and Endowments.
Mohamed Haji Ibrahim, director of the Somali Ministry of Religion and Endowments, told the BBC that 11,500 Somalis went to perform the Hajj this year. Six Somalis died, one of them in an accident. “The Somali pilgrims are safe, but six people died. One of them died in an accident,” Ibrahim confirmed.
The Saudi government has not released an official death toll but reports of heat stroke are at more than 2,700. Agence France-Presse reported that the death toll exceeded 550, including 323 Egyptians and 60 Jordanians. Other countries reporting fatalities include Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and the Kurdistan Region. An Asian diplomat told AFP that about 68 Indian pilgrims died and others were still missing.
Last year, more than 200 pilgrims died during the Hajj, most of them from Indonesia. At least four Somali pilgrims died last year and at least 60 others fell ill from the heat, according to Somalia’s Minister of Religion and Endowments Mukhtar Robow.
This year, there are 1,833,164 pilgrims from Islamic countries, of which 221,854 are Saudi citizens. The remaining 1,611,310 pilgrims come from various countries, including Somalia. The Saudi government said that among the pilgrims this year, there are 958,137 men and 875,027 women. In addition, 4,714 pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia by sea, 60,251 pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia by land, and 1,546,435 pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia by air.
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