Religion

Thirteen pilgrims from Kurdistan Region die in Mecca, others missing

Stuni also mentioned that several pilgrims who traveled to Saudi Arabia on one-year visas to perform the obligatory Hajj have been missing since Saturday.

Muslim worshippers pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on June 11, 2024 ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
Muslim worshippers pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on June 11, 2024 ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
Kurdistan Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs KRG General Directorate of Hajj and Umrah Hajj Kurdish Pilgrims

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region's General Directorate of Hajj and Umrah announced that 13 pilgrims from the Kurdistan Region have died in Mecca, and several others are currently unaccounted for.

Karwan Stuni, spokesperson for the General Directorate of Hajj and Umrah, told Kurdistan 24, "Thirteen citizens from the Kurdistan Region have died so far this year."

Stuni also mentioned that several pilgrims who traveled to Saudi Arabia on one-year visas to perform the obligatory Hajj have been missing since Saturday.

This year, 4,685 pilgrims from the Kurdistan Region traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj through the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs. They traveled by both land and air.

According to Karwan Stuni, the pilgrims who traveled by land will return according to a special schedule.