CAIRO: This month, more than 1,300 people died while participating in the Islamic pilgrimage of the Haj in Saudi Arabia, the majority of whom were denied allows. After paying thousands of dollars to shady tour operators, some people traveled for miles in scorching temperature as high as 51. 8 degrees Celsius.
The casualties included 660 Pharaoh, 165 from Indonesia, 98 from India and lots more from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Malaysia, according to an AP count. Additionally, two Americans passed away.
Unlicensed travelers are frequently exposed to the elements while those with permits travel through Mecca in air-conditioned buses and tents to rest.
On Sunday, Royal health secretary Fahd al Abdurrahman Al- Jalajel said 83 % of the 1, 301 reported incidents involved travellers who lacked grants.
It’s not uncommon for travelers to pass away from heat stress, severe illness, or other chronic illness with nearly 2 million participants annually. Because Saudi does not consistently document those figures, it is still unclear whether the number of murders this year was higher than usual.
This year’s death toll revealed an afterlife of shady tour operators and smugglers who earnings off Muslims who are determined to travel because so many of the victims had no permits. A top Saudi official told AFP that 400, 000 undocumented people had attempted to execute the holiday on April 20.
Haj tour operators, pilgrims, and dead-related relatives shared exploited security gaps that allow visitors to the country without a visitor or guest visa before the holy day. When they arrive, they find improper agents and smugglers who offer their services, take their money and often leave them to fight for themselves, they said.
This time, it appeared as though the number of unregulated pilgrims had increased as a result of growing economic malaise in nations like Egypt and Jordan. An official haj package can cost more than$ 5, 000 or$ 10, 000, depending on a pilgrim’s country of origin- far beyond the means of many.
Safaa al-Tawab from Luxor, Egypt, was one of the unregulated pilgrims who passed away. Al-Tawab, 55, was unable to obtain a pilgrimage force, but her brother Ahmed reported that he found an Ancient tour company that would take her for about$ 3, 000. She informed relatives that she had been prevented from leaving the house and given limited housing. She found herself walking for yards in the heat, according to her brother, despite the journey operator’s promise of air-conditioned cars. When her nephew called a representative from the tour company to say that she was okay, he assured him, but he later turned off his cellphone. Haj is a physically demanding event for fresh and physically healthy people, and many of them are old or ill before they can travel. Some people think that Mecca’s death may be their last ritual, and that the worship may be it.
