A Maryland couple died during extreme heat while fulfilling their dream of performing the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, as scorching temperatures have killed thousands of people on the trek.
Alieu Dausy Wurie, 71, and Isatu Tejan Wurie, 65, were last heard from on June 15, when the couple told their daughter they had been waiting for hours, in extreme heat, for the transportation that would take them to Mount Arafat.
Once the pilgrimage was over, a member of the group approached the family and informed them that their parents had died on the journey. His cause of death is listed as natural causes, including heat stroke.
According AccuWeatherThe high temperature in Mecca on June 15 was 109 degrees Fahrenheit and ranged between 109 and 113 throughout the week.
“They saved their entire lives to embark on this journey and they weren’t given the proper preparation, the proper documents, it was just a nightmarish experience overall,” said daughter Saida Wurie. cnn.
Alieu Dausy Wurie (left), 71, and Isatu Tejan Wurie (right), 65, were last heard from on June 15 as they waited hours in the heat to be transported during the hajj in Saudi Arabia.
Their daughter Saida Wurie (top center), her parents never returned to their hotel and it was then that a member of the group discovered they had died.
“All we know is that it was due to natural causes and someone at the US embassy warned that the natural causes could have been due to heat stroke, which based on the temperature, people were saying was over 110 degrees,” said.
“There are millions of people who have to walk for many hours, so it was most likely heat stroke for my parents.”
Saida said her parents had been dreaming of making the pilgrimage and that her mother had recently retired from her position as head nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Prince George’s County.
The Wuries spent $23,000 on the trip and booked it through a company registered in Maryland, which Saida believes did not adequately care for her parents.
‘Honestly, I don’t think they were adequately prepared for this trip. There was a group of them, maybe up to 100 people traveling under a certain agency,” Saida said.
The couple had been waiting for transportation to arrive when they decided to walk. A member of his group said Alieu Dausy had stopped to take a break and then the couple was never seen again.
“We received a phone call from someone within their group who informed us that they had been missing for a few days, that they were the only two who had not returned to their hotel after completing the Hajj,” their daughter said.
The Wuries spent $23,000 on the trip, but their daughter believes the tour company did not adequately care for her parents.
The couple’s lifelong dream was to complete the hajj, and Isatu Tejan Wurie (center right) had recently retired from her position as chief nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Prince George’s County.
The cause of his death is listed as natural causes, including heat stroke. The maximum temperature in Mecca on the day of his disappearance was 109 degrees Fahrenheit.
“I tried to track them several times by phone, I think their phones may have died, we tried to contact the US embassy, finally the same person who had informed us that they were missing informed us that he had visited a group of hospitals and that they have died. “, said
“I was able to confirm at the consulate general office in Saudi Arabia that they had died.”
The family is trying to locate the bodies of their parents, but the Consulate General office told them the couple has already been buried.
“We asked the Saudi government to hold the bodies so that we could travel to Saudi Arabia and at least give them a proper burial with (their) children present and we could identify the bodies,” Saida said. “Unfortunately they have already been buried.”
Democratic Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks paid tribute to the couple on x.
‘Haja Isatu Wurie was an incredibly active member of our community. She was involved in several community organizations, making transformative impacts that were felt both locally and globally,” Alsobrooks said.
The couple were long-time residents of Bowie, originally from Sierra Leone, and had recently rekindled their relationship after separating in the early 2010s, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must perform it at least once.
More than 1,300 people have died during this year’s Hajj, mainly due to scorching temperatures of more than 100 degrees.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and every Muslim with the means must perform it at least once.
More than 1,300 people have died during this year’s Hajj, most of whom were pilgrims walking long distances in the scorching heat in and around the holy city of Mecca, according to Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al -Jalajel.
The Egyptian government announced Saturday that it will prosecute travel agents for hajj “fraud” following thousands of deaths.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered the withdrawal of licenses from 16 tourism companies and referred their managers to the public sector for illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, the cabinet said.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the hajj through irregular channels, as they cannot afford the often expensive procedures to obtain official hajj visas.
This puts these unregistered pilgrims at risk as they cannot access the air-conditioned facilities provided by the Saudi authorities along the Hajj route.