On Wednesday, friends and family members desperately searched for missing Hajj pilgrims as the death toll from the annual rituals, conducted amidst scorching heat, surpassed 900.
Relatives combed through hospitals and turned to social media for any updates, fearing the worst after temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) in the holy city of Mecca on Monday.
This year, approximately 1.8 million people from around the globe, including many elderly and infirm, participated in the multi-day pilgrimage, predominantly held outdoors during Saudi Arabia’s sweltering summer.
According to an Arab diplomat cited by AFP, the number of deaths among Egyptians alone had risen sharply to “at least 600,” up from over 300 reported just a day earlier, primarily due to the intense heat.
The total reported death toll stood at 922 according to an AFP tally based on figures released by various countries.
Mohammed, husband of Mabrouka bint Salem Shushana from Tunisia, expressed deep concern about his wife, who has been missing since the climax of the pilgrimage at Mount Arafat on Saturday. He noted that because she was not registered and lacked an official Hajj permit, she was unable to access air-conditioned facilities provided for cooling down.
“She’s an elderly woman. She was exhausted. The heat was unbearable, and she had nowhere to rest,” Mohammed lamented. “I’ve searched all hospitals, but still have no information.”
Social media platforms, particularly Facebook, were inundated with posts featuring photos of missing individuals and pleas for information. Among them was Ghada Mahmoud Ahmed Dawood, an Egyptian pilgrim missing since Saturday.
“I received a desperate call from her daughter in Egypt, begging me to share any information on Facebook that might help locate or identify her,” said a family friend based in Saudi Arabia, who preferred to remain anonymous due to concerns about local authorities.
“The positive news is that we haven’t found her name among the deceased, which gives us hope that she’s still alive.”