Among the 1,300 persons who perished during the Hajj journey in Saudi Arabia was a US couple.
Among the 1,300 persons who perished during the Hajj journey in Saudi Arabia was a US couple. They were recognised as Bowie, Maryland, locals. Alhaji Alieu Dausy Wurie, 71, and Haja Isatu Wurie, 65, "walked for over two hours" in sweltering heat before passing away from heat stroke, according to their daughter.
Over 1.8 million pilgrims participated in this year's Hajj, and the temperature rose beyond 122F (50C).
Saida Wurie said that the tour operator hired by her parents had broken numerous of its obligations, including not providing enough food or drink.
Two weeks after their arrival in Saudi Arabia, the pair, who were born in Sierra Leone, went missing on Sunday, June 16. Their distraught daughter learned about their demise a few days later.
According to Saida, her parents had paid $11,500 each to travel to the Middle East via for the Hajj, considering that it was “very important” to them. “It's something that they wanted to do their entire lives. They were beyond excited.”
Their travel was arranged with a group of almost 100 other pilgrims by an American touring firm operating out of Maryland.
US couple 'walked for hours' before death
She added that her parents were not given "a lot of the things promised" by the tour operator, and that they had to go without food for several days, despite the fact that the package was meant to include daily meals. She chastised the tour operator for failing to provide the required permits and travel registration, as promised.
Despite having little supplies in the hot weather, the couple told their daughter they were "taking it a day at a time" and made care to stay hydrated. They also told Saida they had been "walking for over two hours" during their most recent conversation, which took place on June 15.
US couple buried in Saudi Arabia
Later, Consulate officials and tour operator confirmed the couple's death. The US Consulate in Jeddah in a death notification to couple's family said they diedby "natural causes". The US Embassy official told Saida that heat stroke would be considered as a natural cause.
She was told that her parents had been buried, but the consular officials haven't been able to disclose the exact location of their burial.
“We did ask the Saudi government to hold the bodies in order for us to travel to Saudi Arabia to at least give them the proper burial with [their] children being present and to be able to identify the bodies,” “Unfortunately, they have already been buried.”
She now intends to visit Saudi Arabia to discover her parents' burial ground.
What US govt has to say?
The US State Department acknowledged that there had been deaths of several American citizens in Saudi Arabia, but refused to comment on details regarding the Wurie family.
Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks in a post on X said that Haja Isatu Wurie was a very active member of her local community a campaign volunteer.