New Delhi: The death toll from Hajj pilgrimage, amid intense heatwave in Saudi Arabia, is climbing alarmingly.
As per the latest figure, the number of people who have lost their lives has gone past 900, AFP reported.
Out of the 922 fatalities so far, 68 are Indian nationals, a Saudi Arabia diplomat said.
“We have confirmed 68 deaths… Some are because of natural causes as we had many old-age pilgrims and some are due to the weather conditions, that’s what we assume,” AFP quoted the diplomat as saying, on condition of anonymity.
Temperatures have soared well past 45 degrees Celsius mark, and up to 51.8 degrees at the Grand Mosque in Mecca earlier this week.
Hajj this took place from June 14 to 19, with approximately 1.8 million people assembling from all over the world.
Majority of this year’s casualties are believed to be from Egypt (350-plus), while over 60 Jordanians have succumbed to the gruelling weather conditions.
Fatalities have also been confirmed by Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. However, authorities have not specified the cause of death in many cases.