Egyptian pilgrims death toll rises to 70: Health Ministry

Egypt’s health ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed said on Monday a total of 70 Egyptian pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia during the annual hajj season, which concluded the last week of August.

The latest reported cases were for two pilgrims who died of acute cardiovascular and respiratory collapse, the spokesman said, adding that coordination is underway with the authorities concerned to issue death certificates.

Deaths from heat exhaustion, fatigue, and natural causes are not uncommon among pilgrims on the hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, 110 Egyptians died of natural causes during the pilgrimage, according to figures released by the health ministry at the time.

Egyptian pilgrims started returning home on 26 August from the world’s largest annual gathering of Muslims. All capable Muslims are required to perform the hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime.

Saudi Arabia said last month that more than 2.37 million pilgrims performed the five-day ritual, mostly from outside the kingdom with some 600,000 from inside the country.

Around 80,000 Egyptians were estimated to have gone on hajj this year, Egyptian officials said.

Source: MENA