Posted on 06/18/2024 9:24:18 PM PDT by Cronos
At least 550 pilgrims have died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year.
At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, the two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP.
“All of them [the Egyptians] died because of heat” except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one of the diplomats said, adding that the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Mecca.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means to must complete it at least once.
The pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate breakdown, according to a Saudi study published last month that said temperatures in the area where rituals are performed were rising 0.4C (0.72F) each decade.
Temperatures hit 51.8Cat the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday, the Saudi national meteorology centre said.
...Hosting the hajj is a source of prestige for the Saudi royal family, and King Salman’s title includes “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” in the cities of Mecca and Medina.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Same. Since those halcyon days, Lyme disease and Rheumatoid arthritis have done their damage.
Relatives scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst after temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Monday.
About 1.8 million people from all over the world, many old and infirm, took part in the days-long, mostly outdoor pilgrimage, held this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.
An Arab diplomat told AFP that deaths among Egyptians alone had jumped to “at least 600”, from more than 300 a day earlier, mostly from the unforgiving heat.
That figure brought the total reported dead so far to 922, according to an AFP tally of figures released by various countries.
Well, they died doing what their religion told them was their duty.
“Imagine the stench of all those overheated savages”
Having had a reeking to high heaven, prayer-carpet toting man sit next to me an entire flight after he boarded on my flight’s enroute stop in Detroit, I have no trouble whatsoever remembering that horrendous stench and thinking about the effect of that stench multiplied by 550. Me thinks that alone could knock out a crowd. \
They are acclimated to the strong smells that we in the West are not used to.
Sheena was a man ...
1,300 ‘most vulnerable’ Hajj pilgrims died from heat wave in Saudi Arabia
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/06/23/eg-1301-die-in-hajj/4471719181744/
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