At least 550 pilgrims of different nationalities died throughout this week during the rites of the annual ritual pilgrimage or “hajj” to the Saudi city of Mecca for reasons related to high temperatures that They reached 51.8 degrees. on some days, multiple sources reported this Wednesday.

This was reported by a medical source EFE, on condition of anonymity, The current body count at the Al-Muaysem mortuary, the largest in Mecca, stands at 550 bodies. although he did not rule out the number increasing on that day, bringing an end to this year’s pilgrimage.

He added that “at least 325 Egyptian pilgrims (of the total deaths) died during the pilgrimage to Mecca this year.” most of them are due to temperature-related reasons, which, according to the Saudi National Meteorological Center, ranged from 45 to almost 52 degrees during the hottest hours, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

He also confirmed that they also died. at least 60 Jordanian pilgrims, The figure increases the number released yesterday by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, which issued 41 burial permits for pilgrims from the Hashemite Kingdom in Mecca at the request of their families.

“All the pilgrims died due to the heat, except for one person who was mortally wounded during a simple stampede among a crowd of pilgrims,” he explained.

According to this source, the number of deaths among Egyptian pilgrims has increased due to the fact that a large number of them were not registered in the official delegation, that he was unaware of the presence of these fellow citizens who were traveling at their own expense.

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Until now, The Iranian delegation also reported the death of eleven of its compatriots from heatstroke. another 26 remain in hospital; At the same time, official Tunisian sources reported the death of 35 of their citizens making the pilgrimage.

(EFE)