The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday that 98 Indians died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Haj. According to MEA spokeswoman Randhir Jaiswal, there were 187 deaths among Indians over the Haj time last year. "This year, 1,75000 Indian pilgrims came to Mecca for Haj. The Haj takes place between May 9 and July 22. This year, 98 deaths have been reported," he said. "The deaths were caused by natural causes, chronic illnesses, or old age. At his weekly media conference, Jaiswal stated that six persons died on the day of Arafat, four of them were killed by accidents. The MEA representative was replying to a query about Indian deaths while performing Hajj.
According to AFP, the death toll from the Hajj 2024 has surpassed 1,000, with more than half of those killed being unregistered pilgrims who worshipped in extreme temperatures in Saudi Arabia. This year's Hajj trip began on June 14. According to the data, there were 58 additional deaths deported on Thursday (June 20) from Egypt.
According to an Arab ambassador, 630 of the 658 total Egyptian deaths were unrecorded. This year's yearly pilgrimage has claimed the lives of 1,081 people from about ten countries. According to AFP, the death toll during the Hajj pilgrimage 2024 is based on official announcements or ambassadors working on their countries' responses.
Dead pilgrims have also been recorded in Senegal, Tunisia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, and Senegal. Numerous pilgrims are also reported missing; photographs of the missing and requests for information may be found all over Facebook and other social media sites.
An Egyptian guy burst into tears on Wednesday at Mecca's medical complex after learning that his mother was among the deceased. He cried for a while before picking up his phone and phoning their travel agency, according to The Associated Press.
The Hajj is timed according to the lunar year, which moves back ten days each year. While the Hajj is currently migrating towards winter, it will take place in the height of summer in Saudi Arabia by the 2040s.
According to Saudi Hajj authorities, more over 1.83 million Muslims will conduct the Hajj in 2024, including over 1.6 million from 22 countries and approximately 222,000 Saudi nationals and residents. Deaths are not uncommon during the Hajj. There have also been stampedes and diseases during the pilgrimage's history.
