Hajj pilgrimage: more than 1,000 dead in extreme 52C heatwave | BBC News

More than 1,000 people are now reported to have died due to extreme heat in Saudi Arabia, while taking part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Temperatures have reached close to 52C at the city’s Grand Mosque.

Many of those who have succumbed to the heat have been on unofficial trips, often without access to cooling measures including water stops and air conditioned areas.

Around two million people take part in the Hajj but each year tens of thousands of pilgrims make unofficial journeys as they cannot afford expensive official permits.

Lucy Hockings presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Caroline Hawley.

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[TheCpHaddock]

Saudis earn so much money from Haj, yet instead of building shades in and around the area and a collapsable roof on top of Ka'aba, they are spending billions building the Line!!!!

[PA-sscq]

Waiting for the BBC to tell us the sun is islamophobic.

[grammaton]

It seems no one has yet pointed out that perhaps many of these pilgrims, don't particularly mind the risk of dying in the heat wave, because according to their religion those who die during pilgrimage are considered martyrs and ascend directly to heaven.

[dolamike]

For other Americans out there 52c is 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

[patrickdempsey]

So Saudi Arabia doesn’t have money to take care of them but how much is Ronaldo paid per minute?

[TheSlugstoppa]

Let me get this straight. This 'Imam' was upset by what he saw yet filmed as he walked past those who lay in the roadside dying in the heat ??

[yayo]

Now imagine working in that heat building those empty tall shiny buildings.

[Evemeister]

Just think, saudi arabia will host the 2034 FIFA world cup. Have fun, everybody.

[baghlani]

The cause of their death was not only the heat, but they were abandoned in the desert without providing any medical assistance by the Saudi authorities with the excuse that they were unregistered pilgrims.

[Stevef]

The average IQ in the world likely just increased substantially

[nuirueu]

50C Standing shoulder to shoulder and jogging around.. wtf did they expect to happen???? It's not rocket science!

[potoo]

At 50 degrees heat your brain starts to malfunction.

[holyarmor]

What a mad house. You should do a segment on harassment and grabbing of woman in hajj as it's a big problem. But of course many won't come forward because of pressure. But it's a really big problem over there how woman are grabbed in the masses. Even you get warnings when you go to Saudi Arabia as a woman to never go out alone or during night time as the risk of getting kidnapped etc is quite high.

[FuadMohamed-ko]

A saudi visa cost's 50$ per person. Multiply that amount by two million.

[poppystars]

You couldn’t get me to walk to the mailbox in 122* heat. These folks are out there.

[WORLDNSHKNIGHT]

Saudi can afford to put on high profile sporting events. It should make Hajj safety a priority.

[DardaniaLion]

How sad it is to believe in a cult and die for it for no reason?

[franckcolomb]

72 years old, hiking in the desert at 52C… what makes them so dumb???

[creativity]

Even Indians and Pakistanis have seen a lot of 45°C but arabian heat is something else

[steveworth]

People dying for their medieval belief system... crazy.