A Maryland couple on their “lifelong dream” trip is amongst the more than 1,300 pilgrims who died after extreme heat hit the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Alhaji Alieu Dausy, 71, and Haja Isatu Wurie, 65, died while on the pilgrimage to Mecca, according to Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks. She added that Wurie, a campaign volunteer, was a very active member of her local community.
“She was involved in several community organizations, making transformational impacts that were felt both locally and globally,” Alsobrooks wrote.
Alsobrooks said it was with “heavy hearts” that the campaign team learned of the news of the deaths of the Bowie, Maryland, couple.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with their families during this difficult time. Their loss is profound, and they will be deeply missed,” Alsobrooks added.
This year, roughly 1.8 million pilgrims arrived in the holy city of Mecca and walked long distances amid a deadly heatwave with temperatures exceeding 125F (51C).
The couple’s daughter also spoke to CNN after learning of her parent’s deaths in Saudi Arabia during Hajj. The Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca. It is mandatory for those who practice Islam to do it once in their lives.
”All we know is that it was natural causes, and someone from the U.S. Embassy advised the natural causes could have been due to heat stroke, which, based on the temperature, people were saying it was over 110 degrees,” their daughter Saida Wurie told CNN.
“There are millions of people and they have to walk long hours. It was more than likely it was heat stroke for both of my parents.”
Saida told the outlet the trip was a lifelong dream for her parents, who had saved their whole lives for the experience. She estimated they spent $23,000 on a travel package for the event.
Saida Wurie told CNN she believed her parents were not given proper transportation for their trip, saying she last heard from her parents on June 15 when they had been waiting for hours for transport to take them to Mount Arafat.
The couple had decided to walk instead to join fellow pilgrims and others in their tour group, but the pair appeared to go missing on Mount Arafat after her father needed to take a break along the journey.
The US Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, confirmed the couple’s deaths as “natural causes.” Officials also told the family the couple had been buried.
Saida told CNN she and her siblings are doing everything they can to find her parents’ burial place.
They are among the 1,300 who have died during June 14 to June 19 event. Saudi health minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said 83 percent of the total fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims who arrived in the city without a permit, as the Islamic desert kingdom faced criticism over poor management.
Speaking with the state-owned Al Ekhbariya TV, the minister said 95 pilgrims were being treated in hospitals, some of whom were airlifted for treatment in the capital, Riyadh. He said the identification process was delayed because there were no identification documents with many of the dead pilgrims.
He said the dead were buried in Mecca, without giving a breakdown.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.