The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that the death toll among Tunisian pilgrims had reached 35 pilgrims, including 30 pilgrims who entered Saudi territory on tourist visas or as part of a visit or Umrah, while 5 others died among the pilgrims registered on the official lists for the Hajj season.
The Ministry confirmed in a statement published on its official Facebook page that data received from the Tunisian Consulate General in Jeddah confirmed the death of 35 Tunisian pilgrims. Tunisian diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah also began communicating with the families of pilgrims to complete their burial procedures.
In a related context, the consular mission, in coordination with the head of the Tunisian health mission, visited a number of hospitals in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region to count the number of sick and lost residents.
The Tunisian Foreign Ministry appealed to all “Tunisian pilgrims arriving on tourist, visit or Umrah visas, who are in the camps in the Holy Sites, to request medical care and food,” stressing “the principle of equality between all citizens, regardless of the way they came to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj rituals.” ".
Angry reactions increased on social media after news of the deaths and loss of loved ones among pilgrims, prompting groups of volunteers from the Tunisian community in Saudi Arabia to help families search for their loved ones in hospitals.
The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained in its statement that the Hajj season this year coincided with a sharp rise in temperatures in Mecca, and the presence of large numbers of pilgrims arriving on tourist or Umrah visas of various nationalities, who are forced to travel long distances under the rays of the scorching sun.
Although the official authorities did not announce the expected number of pilgrims who entered Saudi territory on tourist visas or those who missed Umrah, citizens’ anger and sadness expanded on social media sites as a result of the situation of the pilgrims who died as a result of their exposure to the intense sun and the loss of many of them.
Groups were formed on social media to publish news, names and photos of missing pilgrims, and contact numbers for their families or volunteers in search operations. Activists also criticized the high cost of Hajj in Tunisia, which exceeds $6,300, stressing that this large amount does not guarantee the safety of pilgrims. It is expected that 11,000 Tunisians will perform the Hajj this year, within the framework of the official mission that launched its first trip from Tunisia on May 22nd, and the last return trip is expected to be on July 9th.