Aussie dies among hundreds in 50C horror
An Australian is among the hundreds of people who have died during a Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia when temperatures soared to 50C.
Each year hundreds of people die while undertaking the pilgrimage, with some counts placing mortality rates as high as 900.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed the death in a statement, and said the agency was providing consular assistance to the person.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” the statement said.
Speaking to ABC’s RN Breakfast, a Muslim Chaplain at Curtin University and the University of Western Australia Yayha Ibrahim said it’s believed the pilgrim was an “elderly” man who lived in Sydney.
“It is somebody who was elderly who sadly found his last moments seeking God,” he said.
“The environment is what it is and it is unfortunate that there was a heatwave in the peak of the Hajj.”
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and is performed from the 8th through the 12th of Dhu al-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic year. This year it occurs between June 14, and June 19.
The event was expected to draw bout about 1.8m Muslims from around the world.
The journey features multiple rituals like spending a day in prayer on Mount Arafat, and a Stoning of the Devil ceremony where pilgrims throw pebbles are three walls in the city of Mina.
While international news sources have compiled data on the deaths of pilgrims undertaking the Hajj, Saudi Arabian authorities have yet to comment on the fatalities.
Drawing data from about 10 countries including Egypt, Jordan, and Indonesia, AFP has reported 1081 deaths during the pilgrimage, including those who were registered and unregistered.
While registered pilgrims have still died amid extreme conditions, they are able to use air-conditioned spaces.
