THECOCONUTWHISPERER : Stoning the Devil on Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca: 1000+ Muslims Die in 125F (50C) heat

A man affected by the scorching heat is helped by a member of the Saudi security forces, as Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the 'stoning of the devil' ritual on Arafat Day, during the annual hajj pilgrimage

The death toll at the annual hajj pilgrimage has exceeded 1,000 after a brutal heatwave saw temperatures topping 50C, at the world's biggest gathering of Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

Shocking images showed people being stretchered away and collapsing on the streets after they fell victim to the searing heat, while many others suffered severe heatstroke and had to be urgently rushed inside.

Unregistered pilgrims make up more than half of those who have perished, with many unable to access air-conditioned facilities and help from authorities.

Around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once.

The national meteorological centre reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

A British Imam described the scenes as 'harrowing' and said that it was impossible for pilgrims to walk through the streets and not to see people suffering from the heat.

A Hajj pilgrim is carried away on a stretcher, his fate unknown, after an intense heatwave in Mecca left more than a thousand dead

A man suffering from apparent heatstroke is helped by another Muslim pilgrim earlier this week

Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun as they arrive at the base of Mount Arafat during the hajj pilgrimage

Rescuers carry away a man affected by the scorching heat on a stretcher

Fire crews carry a stretcher through crowds as temperatures soar at the annual gathering

'There are so many stories from the pilgrims who are with me about what they saw in the streets, particularly last Sunday,' he told the BBC.

'As you were walking, you could not walk 20 yards except you would see someone struggling in the heat.

'People were doing whatever they could to shade themselves, they were taking water from kind individuals who were giving them towels, they were taking shade in hotel receptions.

'It was harrowing at times, I've never seen so many people struggle collectively.'

He went on to say that while authorities had been on hand to help, they need to learn lessons from the awful scenes caused by the extreme heat, made worse by overcrowding.

Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.

Each year tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the hajj through irregular channels as they cannot afford the often costly procedures for official hajj visas.

This places these off-the-books pilgrims at risk as they cannot access air-conditioned facilities provided by Saudi authorities along the hajj route.

A Muslim pilgrim splashes water on his head to cools off at the base of Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat

Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities

Muslim pilgrims walk under mist dispensers, which Saudi authorities have set up to try to keep people cool

Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the 'stoning of the devil' ritual as part of the hajj pilgrimage

'I think the Saudi authorities perhaps do need to start thinking about controlling the numbers of how many pilgrims come each and every year,' the British Imam said.

'With the fact that the pilgrimage happens in the summer months, they really need to look into this in more detail.'

The hajj, whose timing is determined by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell again this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.

The national meteorological centre reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Each year tens of thousands of pilgrims try to join the hajj through irregular channels as they cannot afford the often costly official permits.

Pilgrims shield themselves from the sun as temperatures soar past 50C in Mecca

More than a thousand died in the blistering heat of Saudi Arabia at this year's gathering

Saudi authorities reported clearing hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca this month, but many more still participated in the main rites which began last Friday.

This group was more vulnerable, because without official permits they could not access air-conditioned spaces provided for the 1.8 million authorised pilgrims to cool down.

'People were tired after being chased by security forces before Arafat day. They were exhausted,' one Arab diplomat told AFP on Thursday of Saturday's day-long outdoor prayers that marked the hajj's climax.

The diplomat said the main cause of death among Egyptian pilgrims was the heat, which triggered complications related to high blood pressure and other issues.

Egyptian officials were visiting hospitals to obtain information and help Egyptian pilgrims get medical care, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

'However, there are large numbers of Egyptian citizens who are not registered in hajj databases, which requires double the effort and a longer time to search for missing persons and find their relatives,' it said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has ordered that a 'crisis cell' headed by the prime minister follow up on the deaths of the country's pilgrims.

Sisi stressed 'the need for immediate coordination with the Saudi authorities to facilitate receiving the bodies of the deceased and streamline the process,' said a statement from his office.

More fatalities were also confirmed on Thursday by Pakistan and Indonesia.

Out of around 150,000 pilgrims, Pakistan has so far recorded 58 deaths, a diplomat told AFP.

'I think given the number of people, given the weather, this is just natural,' the diplomat said.

Indonesia, which had around 240,000 pilgrims, raised its death toll to 183, its religious affairs ministry said, compared with 313 deaths recorded last year.

Deaths have also been confirmed by Malaysia, India, Jordan, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, Sudan and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. In many cases, authorities have not specified the cause.

Muslim devotees walk around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca

Pilgrim deaths are reported every year, not only due to heat but also the difficulty of the walk and the sheer amount of people who undertake it

Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the 'stoning of the devil' ritual during the annual hajj pilgrimage

Pilgrims were seen passing out on the side of the road amid blistering conditions at this year's gathering

A sea of umbrellas was all that could be seen on this street as people protected themselves from the sun

Friends and relatives have been searching for missing pilgrims, scouring hospitals and pleading online for news, fearing the worst.

Two diplomats told AFP Thursday that Saudi authorities had begun the burial process for dead pilgrims, cleaning the bodies and putting them in white burial cloth and taking them to be interred.

'The burial is done by the Saudi authorities. They have their own system so we just follow that,' said one diplomat, who said his country was working to notify loved ones as best it could.

The other diplomat said that given the number of fatalities it would be impossible to notify many families ahead of time, especially in Egypt which accounts for so many of the dead.

Saudi Arabia has not provided information on fatalities, though it reported more than 2,700 cases of 'heat exhaustion' on Sunday alone.

Last year various countries reported more than 300 deaths during the hajj, mostly Indonesians.

The timing of the hajj moves back about 11 days each year in the Gregorian calendar, meaning that next year it will take place earlier in June, potentially in cooler conditions.

A 2019 study by the journal Geophysical Research Letters said heat stress for hajj pilgrims will exceed the 'extreme danger threshold' from 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086, 'with increasing frequency and intensity as the century progresses'.

Hosting the hajj is a source of prestige for the Saudi royal family, and King Salman's official title includes the words 'Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques', in Mecca and Medina.

The hajj has seen a number of disasters over the years, most recently in 2015 when a stampede during the 'stoning the devil' ritual killed up to 2,300 people.