At least 14 Jordanians died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia due to intense heat, officials said.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said 14 of its citizens died “after suffering heatstroke due to the extreme heat wave” and 17 others were reported missing.
According to AFP news agency, the Iranian Red Crescent Organization confirmed that five Iranian pilgrims also died but did not specify how they died.
Jordanian officials said the search for the missing was continuing.
In a statement, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was coordinating with Saudi Arabian authorities on procedures for burying or transporting the bodies of the deceased, according to the wishes of their families.
Hajj is one of the largest gatherings of people in the world. According to Saudi Arabian officials, more than 1.8 million pilgrims will participate this year.
But it has a history of deadly disasters, including stampedes and tent fires. But most years, the main challenge comes from intense heat.
Temperatures exceeded 46C (114.8F) this week, making many ceremonies performed outdoors and walking particularly challenging for the elderly.
The head of Saudi Arabia’s national meteorological center, Ayman Ghulam, warned last week: “The expected climate during this year’s Hajj will see average temperatures rise from 1.5 to 2 degrees. [Celsius] above normal in Mecca and Medina.”
These two cities are the center of the five-day Hajj pilgrimage.
Saudi Arabia’s official press agency reported that a treatment center near Mount Arafat had recorded 225 cases of heat stress.
“It’s physically tiring but spiritually rewarding,” Neron Khan, a Canadian pilgrim, told AFP.
She added that during some of the rituals she was in a “state of heat exhaustion”.
The pilgrimage will end on Wednesday. Saudi officials said that as part of heat-reduction measures, they have set up multiple climate-controlled zones. They distributed water and gave pilgrims advice on how to protect themselves from the sun.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health also issued advice, asking pilgrims to drink enough water and avoid going outdoors during the hottest hours of the day from 10:00 to 16:00.
Last year at least 240 people died. And in the worst Hajj disaster, a horrific massacre in 2015 killed more than 2,000 people.
