MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. The pilgrims who died in Saudi Arabia while performing Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, mostly did so illegally, without Hajj visas, Russian Mufti Rushan Abbyasov told TASS.
Earlier, the Agence France-Press (AFP) news agency reported that over 1,000 pilgrims had died in Saudi Arabia during Hajj, and about 800 people were reported missing. In turn, diplomatic sources told TASS that five Russians were among those dead.
"According to my information, most of the deaths were caused by illegal pilgrims, who simply stood in the open sun. Legal pilgrims, who paid for their entire trip, were given special tents with all the necessities. These pilgrims [who died] were mostly illegal pilgrims, they came without Hajj visas, so they stayed outside and were exposed to the open sun for a long time. This year, Saudi Arabia is very hot," he said.
The mufti emphasized that most of the pilgrims' deaths were due to overexertion caused by the extreme heat.
He said that several hundred Russian pilgrims also tried to visit Saudi Arabia illegally. "Several hundred pilgrims did try to use the so-called ‘invitations’ to visit cheaper than it is customary for official tour operators. And this year Saudi Arabia has been very harsh in evicting them from Mecca. They took them out of the holy places so that they could not perform the pilgrimage rites, because they violated Saudi legislation by not obtaining all the necessary accreditations, visas and so on," Abbyasov pointed out.
The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is required to make if he or she has the opportunity. This year it took place on June 14-19.