At least 41 Jordanians have died from heatstroke during the Islamic hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Jordan said on Tuesday, as temperatures soared in recent days.
The ministry is following procedures for burying Jordanian pilgrims in Mecca who died due to heat stroke and continuing searches for missing pilgrims, the ministry said in a statement.
On Monday, Saudi authorities warned pilgrims to avoid the sun and urged them to postpone the rituals until after 4pm (1pm GMT).
Islam’s holiest city recorded 51.8 degrees Celsius on Monday, while other nearby holy sites recorded 48 degrees.
About 1.8 pilgrims took part this year in the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, which started in Mecca on Friday evening in sweltering heat.
Buses and trains are used to transport the many worshipers to the holy sites, but the large crowds and intense heat still pose a challenge to pilgrims and law enforcement.
Recent decades have also seen several major tragedies with hundreds of deaths due to crowding.
