Saudi Arabia Accused of Negligence as Death Toll in Haj Suprasses over 1000 Due to Extreme Temperatures
The death toll from this year’s muslim annual pilgrimage, Hajj, has soared to over 1000 with more than half being unregistered worshippers, compelled to complete the pilgrimage against scorching temperatures in Saudi Arabia, in the wake of accusations against the Kingdom for negligence.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims embark towards Hajj via unofficial methods, since they are unable to afford the rather expensive legal visas, which allegedly barred them from utilizing the air-conditioned areas for the 1.8 million authorized pilgrims. According to various reports, the majority of those who died were Egyptian.
Many took to social media to condemn Saudi Arabia’s negligence in the wake of soaring temperatures, accusing the kingdom for not taking enough measures to protect the pilgrims from the heat.
“Hundreds of Egyptian pilgrims died when throwing stones at ‘Jamarat’ [the ritual stoning of a representation of the devil during the Hajj], and the Saudi government is keeping the disaster a secret. Eyewitnesses say that they saw the bodies of pilgrims dumped in the streets amid the complete absence of medical and ambulance teams,” one social media user wrote.
“Pilgrims are not dying from overcrowding but rather from poor organization and negligence. There have been hundreds of deaths of pilgrims of different nationalities,” another stated.
If you value our journalism…
TMJ News is committed to remaining an independent, reader-funded news platform. A small donation from our valuable readers like you keeps us running so that we can keep our reporting open to all! We’ve launched a fundraising campaign to raise the $10,000 we need to meet our publishing costs this year, and it’d mean the world to us if you’d make a monthly or one-time donation to help. If you value what we publish and agree that our world needs alternative voices like ours in the media, please give what you can today.
Author
Related
FEMA Short on Staff and Funding for ‘Potentially Catastrophic’ Hurricane Milton
The situation inside FEMA’s disaster recovery centers in Florida highlights the agency’s stretched resources as…
FEMA Announces $9 Billion Shortfall for Hurricane Relief as Israel Secures Another $8.7 Billion in Military Aid
A U.S. dockworkers' strike took place this week, halting operations at major East Coast and…
FEMA Announces $9 Billion Shortfall for Hurricane Relief as Israel Secures Another $8.7 Billion in Military Aid
Hurricane Helene, which struck the U.S. last week, has devastated communities across six states, with…
