The death toll of Hajj pilgrims at the annual rituals, which were carried out in scorching heat, surged past 900. That figure brought the total reported dead so far to 922, according to an AFP tally of figures released by various countries. The diplomat later added that Egyptian officials in Saudi Arabia had received “1,400 reports of missing pilgrims”, including the 600 dead. A second Arab diplomat told AFP on Wednesday that Jordanian officials were looking for 20 missing pilgrims, though 80 others who were initially reported missing were located in hospitals. Last year more than 200 pilgrims were reported dead, most of them from Indonesia.

Source: Nigerian Tribune June 20, 2024 12:59 UTC