
This year's Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca has been marked by extremely high temperatures and a death toll that has exceeded 1,000.
Huge crowds formed in the Mecca area as an estimated 1.8 million Muslims gathered for the landmark event.
The Hajj, which is timed according to the Islamic lunar calendar, is being held this year during the hot Saudi summer, with the National Meteorological Center reporting that the thermometer hit 51.8 degrees Celsius earlier this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Photos and videos of sick pilgrims and some of them who died from the scorching heat have appeared on social networks.
In a shocking video shared on social media, a truck is seen carrying many corpses covered for burial.
Mercury reached 52 degrees. Dead bodies everywhere on the streets of Mecca..600+ Haj pilgrims have died so far due to the heatwave. Bodies of deceased people kept on the roadside in Mecca The Saudi government is being criticized for mismanagement. But @AJEnglish won't report it.
— ???????????????????????? (@Siingh777) June 20, 2024
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