Death toll during hajj tops 1,000 amid severe heat in Saudi Arabia

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. The death toll from this year's hajj exceeds 1,000, an AFP tally said on Thursday, with unregistered pilgrims making up more than half of those who perished amid intense heat, Barron’s reports.

The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 total dead from that country, 630 were unregistered.

Temperatures have reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must complete it at least once.

Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.