Al Jazeera English, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
At least 14 Jordanian pilgrims have reportedly di£d during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as temperatures soar in the kingdom.
Jordan’s foreign ministry said “14 Jordanian pilgrims di£d and 17 others were missing” during the performance of hajj rituals.
It said its nationals had di£d “after suffering sunstroke due to the extreme heatwave” and that it had coordinated with Saudi authorities to bury the d£ad in Saudi Arabia or transfer them to Jordan.
The Iranian Red Crescent chief, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said “five Iranian pilgrims have lost their lives so far in Mecca and Medina during the hajj this year”, but did not say how they died. Mohammed Al-Abdulaali, a spokesperson for the Saudi health ministry, told reporters that more than 2,760 pilgrims suffered from sunstroke and heat stress on Sunday alone.
Saudi Arabia has not provided any information on fatalities. The heat reached 47C (116.6F) in Mecca on Sunday, a temperature that was forecast to continue on Monday.
