2024 Hajj: 6 Ghanaians succumbed to intense heat wave in Mecca

Six Ghanaian nationals have been reported dead in Mecca due to an intense heat wave that swept through Saudi Arabia during the 2024 Hajj.

This brings the total number of Ghanaians who have died in this year’s Hajj to eight.

The spokesperson for the Ghana Hajj Board, Abdul Rahman Alhassan Gomba, confirmed this to an Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday.

According to him, the pilgrims, who resided in Madina as part of their religious journey, faced extreme temperatures exceeding 41 degrees Celsius.

In response to the intense heat, Saudi authorities mandated that all pilgrims stay within their tents during peak heat hours, between noon and 4 p.m. local time.

Initially, reports of fatalities emerged involving Georgian pilgrims. However, it was later revealed that Ghanaians were also among the heat wave victims.

Meanwhile, a Sky News report says over 1,000 people have died during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

RELATED ARTICLE:

• 2024 Hajj: 2 Ghanaian pilgrims die in Saudi Arabia

“The temperature was so high—above 41 degrees Celsius. They asked the authorities to confine us to our camps between noon and 4 p.m. Saudi time. Later, we heard that some Georgians lost their lives in town.

“At the time, we didn’t even know that some Ghanaians were also going to lose their lives under the conditions said to be related to the heat waves that swept across Saudi Arabia on the day,” Gomba is quoted as saying.

Additionally, Gomba indicated that earlier reports had suggested that 13 Ghanaians had died as a result of the incident, which was later clarified to be six following fingerprint verification at the morgue.

These unidentified fatalities, according to him, involved individuals suspected of travelling with non-Hajj visas, complicating identification efforts.

“The forensic centre at the morgue, where the corpses are kept before being buried, had only managed to get six nationals from Ghana. When I asked him how they were doing it, they told me they were using fingerprints, and it was a laborious task.

“So, it will take days before the number of Ghanaians who died as a result of the heat wave will be established. Currently, we can say six people died during the heat wave, even though an autopsy report is not yet out regarding the subject,” he said.