At least 323 Egyptian pilgrims have died during the Hajj pilgrimage in western Saudi Arabia. Most of them were struck down by heat-related illnesses, said two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries' responses.
"They all died from the heat, except for one who suffered fatal injuries after a crowd," one of the diplomats said, AFP reported.
At least 60 Jordanians have also died, with Amman previously putting the number at 41 on June 18.
With the new deaths, the total number of deaths reported so far by various countries has reached 577.
Diplomats put the total death toll at the al-Muaysem morgue, one of the largest in the holy city of Mecca, at 550.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims who can afford it must perform it at least once.
According to Saudi authorities, about 1.8 million pilgrims participated in the hajj this year, 1.6 million of whom were foreigners.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform Hajj without securing an official Hajj visa to save money. This is a dangerous undertaking as these unregistered pilgrims do not have access to air-conditioned facilities provided by the Saudi authorities along the Hajj route.
Earlier in June, Saudi officials said they had let hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims out of Mecca ahead of the hajj.
Other countries that have reported deaths during the pilgrimage this year include Indonesia, Iran and Senegal. |BGNES
