RIYADH: Hundreds of the pilgrims who died in fierce heat at this year's Haj were not officially registered with the Saudi authorities, with the result that many had no access to vital services like air-c
were not officially registered with the Saudi authorities, with the result that many had no access to vital services like air-conditioned buses and cool-off tents.
The unregistered pilgrims' lack of a permit made it difficult to provide them with services and care, the security spokesman for Saudi's Ministry of Interior, Colonel Talal bin Shalhoub, said in an interview on Saudi TV channel al-Arabiya. But he acknowledged that unregistered pilgrims"walked long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort", and added that 83 per cent of the 1,301 fatalities were among unregistered pilgrims.
Almost two million pilgrims made their way to Mecca this year to perform Haj rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries ago. "It's a situation that is only getting worse with time," said Elfatih Eltahir, co-director of the Jameel Observatory and a professor at MIT, who published a paper on the dangers of heat stress for pilgrims in 2019.
Haj tours can cost from US$5,000 to US$10,000 per person, and the price is part of the reason many take unofficial packages.
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