Fact-Check: This Photo of Bodies Covered in White Cloth From Hajj Is From 2015

This photo dates back to 2015 and is being falsely linked to 2024 deaths at Hajj.

[TRIGGER WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED]

A photo showing several bodies covered in white cloth is going viral to claim that it is a recent photo.

• Users sharing this photo are linking it to the recent deaths that happened during Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

For context: At least 1,300 people died during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca this year. The reason behind the death toll being higher than usual was assumed to be heat stress, illness and chronic disease.

• The fatalities included more than 660 Egyptians.

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: The picture dates back to 2015 and shows victims of a stampede outside Mecca.

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How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on the viral photo and this led us to reports from 2015.

• This led us to a report by International Quran News Agency published on 25 September 2015 which carried the same image.

• The report stated about an Iranian pilgrim who survived the stampede outside Mecca criticizing the Saudi officials for their slow and inadequate response to the emergency situation.

• Iranian Student News Agency also carried the same image and was shared on 26 September 2015.

• It added that the stampede at Mecca resulted in more than 700 people dead.

• Agence France-Presse (AFP) had shared a similar photo in 2015 and stated that at least 717 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mecca, at the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia on 24 September 2015.

Conclusion: An old image of a dead bodies from Mecca has being falsely linked to the recent incident.

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