Six Ghanaians have died in Mecca due to a heat wave in Saudi Arabia, adding to two earlier deaths, bringing the total to eight.
Hajj Board Spokesperson Abdul Rahman Alhassan Gomba confirmed this on Eyewitness News, noting that the pilgrims in Madina faced temperatures over 41 degrees Celsius.
The Saudi authorities ordered all pilgrims to stay inside their tents between noon and 4 p.m. local time during the hottest part of the day due to the intense heat.
The situation became more dire when news spread that some pilgrims, initially from Georgia, had died. Subsequently, it was discovered that the heat wave also affected Ghanaians.
According to Sky News, more than 1,000 individuals have now passed away while doing the Hajj in Mecca.
A.R Gomda clarified:
“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.
“I had the opportunity to speak with an official at the time word spread around the Ghanaian camp that 13 of our nationals had lost their lives. These people were persons who did not travel via the Hajj Board. These were people suspected of having travelled with a non-Hajj visa.
“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.”
