Hajj Deaths | 68 Among Hundreds Dead in Extreme Heat Are Indians: Reports
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Out of the 645 reported Hajj deaths, 68 are Indians, multiple news outlets have reported.
A day ago, the toll had been at 550 – a figure released by the hospital morgue in Mecca’s al-Muaisem neighbourhood, according to The Guardian. The AFP news agency has updated it to 645 based on word from various countries' embassies.
The Wire had reported on the basis of an AFP report a day ago that the mercury has exceeded the 50°Celsius mark in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Islam's holiest city. On June 18, it touched the 51.8°C mark. Most Hajj rituals take place outside.
A diplomat is now reported to have told AFP that among those dead are 68 Indians who had gone to the annual Muslim pilgrimage. As many as 323 were Egyptians.
The Guardian has reported that friends and family of missing pilgrims have been searching hospitals and pleading online for news. Many pilgrims are unregistered and do not have official Hajj permits, making tracking difficult.
More than 1.8 million people took part in the pilgrimage, The Washington Post reported.
This report comes as New Delhi authorities claim to have recovered 50 bodies over the last 48 hours – all of people belonging to underprivileged socioeconomic backgrounds – as a brutal heatwave courses through the city.
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