An Australian is among hundreds of people who died during a Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia when temperatures soared to 50C.
Every year, hundreds of people die while performing the pilgrimage in scorching weather, with some counts putting death rates as high as 900.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the death in a statement to the ABC and said the agency was providing consular assistance to the person.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” the statement said.
Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun. Photo: Fadel Senna/AFP
Speaking to the ABC’s RN Breakfast programme, a Muslim chaplain at Curtin University and the University of Western Australia, Yayha Ibrahim, said the pilgrim was believed to be an “elderly” man living in Sydney.
“He is someone who was old and who sadly found his last moments searching for God,” he said.
“The environment is what it is and it is a shame that there was a heat wave at the height of the Hajj.”
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and takes place from the 8th to the 12th of Dhu al-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic year. This year it occurs between June 14 and June 19.
Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina. Photo: Fadel Senna/AFP
The event was expected to attract around 1.8 million Muslims from around the world this year.
The trip features multiple rituals, such as spending a day in prayer on Mount Arafat and a devil-stoning ceremony where pilgrims throw stones at three walls in the city of Mina.
While international news sources have collected data on the deaths of pilgrims performing the Hajj, authorities in Saudi Arabia have yet to comment on the deaths.
Based on data from a dozen countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Indonesia, AFP reported 1,081 deaths during the pilgrimage, among registered and unregistered people.
Registered pilgrims can use air-conditioned areas, but some have still died amid the extreme conditions.
