Intense heat claims lives of 35 Pakistani pilgrims during Hajj 2024

At least 35 Pakistani pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia during the Holy pilgrimage of Hajj this year due to an intense heatwave, according to AFP.

The Director General of Pakistan’s Hajj Mission, Abdul Wahab Soomro, also said that a total of 35 pilgrims, who belonged to the South Asian country, died in the Kingdom.

However, he did not attribute the deaths to the scorching heat in Saudi Arabia.

20 casualties were reported in Makkah, six in Madina, four in Mina, three in Arafat and two in Muzdalifah, he added.

“It has come to our attention that some videos are circulating on social media websites in which pilgrims are shown and no one is coming to help [them]; these videos are baseless because their authenticity could not be verified and their date or year could not be determined,” the DG clarified in a statement.

On the other hand, AFP reported that almost 922 pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia during Hajj 2024, which was carried out in scorching heat.

The temperature in the holy city reached up to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) on Monday in the Kingdom, which resulted in the deaths.

Over 1.8 million pilgrims from across the world, including the elderly, women, and children, took part in the annual rituals this year.

AFP reported citing Arab diplomats that among the pilgrims who died, 600 were Egyptians, most of whom succumbed to heat-related illnesses.

At least 60 Jordanian pilgrims have also lost their lives, exceeding the official figure of 41 reported by Amman on Tuesday.

Saudi authorities have reported treating over 2,500 pilgrims for heatstroke but have not updated the figure or provided information on the number of deaths since Sunday.

Several pilgrims, who were out in oven-like Saudi summer to perform Hajj rituals, have been missing since the day of Arafat, according to the publication.

"Facebook and other social media networks have been flooded with pictures of the missing and requests for information," AFP said in its report.