Muslim pilgrims make their way to throw stones at a pillar, symbolizing the stoning of Satan in a ritual called “Jamarat,” the last rite of the annual hajj, in the Mina neighborhood of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in this Oct. 5, 2014 photo. (AP)
A total of 133 Arab foreign pilgrims have died so far, while 213 others have been admitted to hospitals during this Haj season, according to a statistical report issued by the Tawafa Organization for Pilgrims from Arab Countries.
“We have advised seven pilgrims to return to their countries due to signs of psychiatric illness, preventing them from completing the Haj pilgrimage,” the report said, adding that four of the pilgrims came from Egypt, two from Jordan and one from Lebanon.
The highest number of deaths was reported among Egyptian pilgrims, with 14 cases of death and 81 hospitalization cases. Five Iraqis, four Algerians, and four Sudanese have also died, in addition to three Moroccans, three Somalis, two Yemenis, two Jordanians and one Mauritanian.
The Health Ministry, meanwhile, said 56 percent of deaths during the Haj season were caused by heart and lung diseases.
Hospitalized Arab pilgrims included 25 Iraqis, 20 Sudanese, 19 Somalis, 15 Moroccans, 10 Algerians, nine Yemenis, seven Syrians, seven Palestinians, seven Jordanians, six Libyans, five Tunisians and one Lebanese patient.
Faisal Nouh, chairman of the organization, said that some of the hospitalized pilgrims have been released, while pilgrims who were unable to move to Arafat have been transported by ambulance to perform Haj rites.
More than 265,000 pilgrims from Arab countries arrived in the Kingdom to perform Haj this year. The majority of pilgrims (68,749) have come from Egypt, followed by Algeria, Morocco and Iraq.
Meanwhile, government-run hospitals in the holy sites have carried out a series of surgical operations on pilgrims, including five open-heart operations, local media said quoting data released by the Ministry of Health.
Some 70,721 pilgrims visited health facilities in Makkah and Madinah in the last four days, the media said.
Tariq Al-Arnous, head of emergency and field medicine at the ministry, said field medical teams treated some 2,780 cases the day before Arafat, of which 76 cases were transferred to hospitals in the holy sites.
On Arafat Day alone, medical teams treated 3,638 cases on the spot, 93 of which were transferred to hospitals, he was quoted as saying. He said ambulance cars were deployed in areas leading to the Jamrat on 11th, 12th and 13th Dul Hijjah.
Ambulance cars are linked with the operations room at the emergency complex, where a team of experienced technicians guide these vehicles through the fastest and shortest routes.
Source: ArabNews
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