Saudi Arabia has announced that 1,301 pilgrims died during this year’s hajj.

In an interview on Sunday, Fahd Al-Jalajel, the country’s minister of health, said 83 per cent of the 1,301 fatalities were unauthorised pilgrims who walked long distances in high temperatures to perform the hajj rituals.

The minister said 95 pilgrims were being treated in hospitals, some of whom were airlifted for treatment in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

“1,301 people died during the #Hajj1445 season. May Allah have mercy on them all, 83% of them are not authorised for Hajj, who walked long distances under the sun, without shelter or rest, including a number of elderly people and people with chronic diseases,” he said.

On May 26, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said Tawakaltu Alako, a Nigerian pilgrim, slumped and died in her hotel at Makkah.

Following this incident, NAHCON has reported many more deaths in this year’s hajj.

Abubakar Adamu, head of Nigeria’s medical team for 2024 Hajj, had told journalists on July 17, that one of the Nigerian pilgrims died due to heatstroke while on his way to Jamrate to perform the ritual of throwing stones.

Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).

Mohammed Al-Abdulaali, a spokesperson for the Saudi health ministry, had said that more than 2,760 pilgrims suffered from sunstroke and heat stress on July 16 alone.