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Egypt forms crisis unit on haj deaths as toll increases

Egypt formed a crisis unit on Thursday to investigate the deaths of Egyptians taking part in the annual Muslim expedition to Mecca during severe heat, after medical and security sources stated at least 530 Egyptians had died and 31 were missing out on.

In current days numerous people from different nations have actually passed away in penalizing conditions for the haj expedition in the Saudi Arabian city, where temperatures have at times exceeded 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit).

The medical source, who was with the main Egyptian haj delegation, stated the majority of those who died were not formally registered for the occasion with the authorities, which implied they could not access camping tents.

In a declaration announcing the formation of the crisis unit on the orders of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's cabinet stated 28 deaths had actually been validated from a group of 50,752 formally registered Egyptian pilgrims.

It gave no toll for unregistered pilgrims, stating Egypt was looking for an accurate stock of the dead and missing and was collaborating with Saudi equivalents to arrange for the transfer of bodies.

Companies that had facilitated travel for unregistered pilgrims would be examined and penalised, the cabinet included.

A witness said that during the pilgrimage thousands of pilgrims had rested on the streets, exposed to the sun, on the reach Mount Arafat, among the integral rituals of the journey.

The bodies of dead pilgrims were later covered with Ihram fabric - an easy clothes worn by pilgrims - till medical cars arrived, the witness said.

The 5th pillar of Islam, the haj is mandatory when in a. lifetime for every single able-bodied Muslim who can afford it and is. the most significant symptom of Islamic faith and unity. This year's occasion, which began last Friday, is anticipated to draw. nearly 2 million pilgrims.

Climate researchers have actually said rising temperatures present a. growing danger to the occasion, although heat-related deaths along. the haj are not brand-new, and have been recorded back to the 1400s.

(source: Reuters)