An American couple walked for more than two hours before succumbing to scorching temperatures on the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The couple's daughter reports the lack of food and water.
The couple's daughter, Saida Wurie, said the group was not provided with many of the promised items, such as food and water. According to the BBC Alhaji Alieu Dausy Wurie, 71, and Haja Isatu Wurie, 65, are among the approximately 1,300 people who died during the pilgrimage.
Saida assured that her parents disappeared on June 16, two weeks after arriving in Saudi Arabia. It was only a few days later that the daughter was informed of her parents' death. "The walk was something they really wanted to do. They were very excited," the woman assured. The grieving daughter also said that her parents had paid a total of 23,000 dollars (around 21 thousand euros) for the trip.
Although the price already includes meals, Saida says that for many days parents have to look for food to eat.
The couple traveled to the Middle East with a group of almost 100 pilgrims through a North American tourist company.
Saida Wurie had the help of consulate employees to find out in which cemetery her parents were buried. The woman now intends to travel to Saudi Arabia to see where her parents' bodies are buried.
Saudi Arabia confirmed on Sunday the deaths of 1,301 pilgrims during the massive Muslim pilgrimage recently held to Mecca in scorching heat. "They traveled long distances under the sun, without adequate shelter or comfort," the official Saudi news agency reported at the time.
The annual pilgrimage to Mecca ended on Wednesday, after five days of religious rituals, marked by high temperatures that reached 51.8 degrees Celsius.
