More than 1,300 pilgrims died amid scorching heat during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia’s health minister said Sunday.
83% of deaths among unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances, minister says
The Associated Press ·
A Muslim pilgrim pours cold water from a bottle on their head to cool off amid scorching heat in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on Thursday. (Abdul Ghani Bashir/AFP/Getty Images)
More than 1,300 pilgrims died amid scorching heat during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia’s health minister said Sunday.
Speaking to state-owned television, Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said that 83 per cent of the fatalities were among unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances under scorching heat.
The fatalities included more than 660 people from Egypt, according to two officials in Cairo.
PHOTOS | Muslims brave heat for final rites of Hajj pilgrimage:
