Five Iranians Died During This Year's Hajj Ceremony

The head of Iran's Red Crescent Society stated that as of Sunday, June 17, the deaths of five Iranians during the Hajj ceremony have been confirmed. Pirhossein Kolivand did not mention the cause of death for the Iranian pilgrims, but news agencies report that more than 10 pilgrims have died this year due to heatstroke. The IRNA news agency reported on Friday that an 80-year-old Iranian woman died during the Hajj. This year's Hajj took place in the extreme summer heat of Saudi Arabia, and the country's Ministry of Health announced that over 2,700 cases of heatstroke were recorded just on Sunday. On Tuesday, June 18, Saudi Arabia issued a warning about rising temperatures in Mecca, emphasizing that the temperature reached 49 degrees Celsius in Mecca and Mina that day. Health officials advised pilgrims to avoid sun exposure. Besides the five Iranian citizens, Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that 14 Jordanian pilgrims died from heatstroke, and 17 others are missing. Senegal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that three pilgrims from their country have died. In total, more than 1.8 million people participated in this year's Hajj, of which nearly 90% are non-Saudi nationals. About 83,000 of this year's pilgrims are Iranian. Last year, the number of deaths during the Hajj reached 230, a significant portion of which was due to heatstroke. The Saudi government has not yet announced the total number of deaths during this year's Hajj. On Sunday, pilgrims performed the Rami Jamarat ritual, where they throw stones at stone pillars representing 'Satan,' which is a prelude to the sacrifice of a sheep and the official conclusion of the Hajj. In the stampede during the Rami Jamarat ritual in 2015, over 700 pilgrims were trampled to death, more than 130 of whom were Iranian.