More than 1.8 million pilgrims attended Hajj in June.
Photographer: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
Hundreds of Hajj Heat Deaths Test Saudi Arabia's Climate Preparedness
More than 1,300 people died during the Hajj as temperatures reached about 52C, the highest during the annual Muslim pilgrimage in two decades.
Adil Kachwala, 39, was heading back to his camp during the Hajj pilgrimage last week when people started fainting around him. Two older members of the group of British worshippers he belonged to couldn’t go on as temperatures soared to 46C (114F), so he walked the 10 minutes to his tent to get help.
The response from an official on duty: Saudi Arabian authorities had told him to only staff the tents and he couldn’t offer assistance outdoors. “My exact words were, ‘So do you want those guys to die?’ Kachwala said. “He said, ‘I can’t do anything.’” There were medics and volunteers outside, but they were outnumbered by the people who needed help from the unbearable heat.