Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the symbolic 'stoning of the devil' ritual as part of the hajj pilgrimage in Mina, near Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca, on June 16, 2024. Fadel Senna, AFP 

MANILA -- A Filipino died of heatstroke at this year's hajj pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

The death toll from this year's hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said Thursday.

Some 5,100 Filipinos had joined the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once, DFA Secretary Eduardo de Vega said.

"So far, one female Riyadh-based Filipino pilgrim died of natural causes (heatstroke) in Makkah," De Vega said in a statement.

The 37-year-old OFW's family has been informed in order to facilitate her burial conducted in Makkah on June 19, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh added.

According to Philippine Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Rommel Romato, the Filipina pilgrim from Western Mindanao works as a dental assistant in Riyadh. She participated in the Hajj with a group of other OFWs from Riyadh. The rest of the OFWs are safe.

The DFA has sent a team to augment the Embassy in Riyadh in monitoring and extending assistance to all Filipino Hajj pilgrims.

“We are monitoring approximately 5,100 Filipino pilgrims at the moment. Our Philippine Embassy and Consulate General Hajj assistance teams have collaborated with the NCMF to assist Filipino pilgrims.,” Romato said in a message.

The hajj, whose timing is determined by the lunar Islamic calendar, fell again this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.

The national meteorological center reported a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Loved ones search for missing as hajj death toll passes 900

The pilgrimage involved hours of walking and praying. Each year tens of thousands of pilgrims try to join the hajj through irregular channels as they cannot afford the often costly official permits.

This group was more vulnerable, because without official permits they could not access air-conditioned spaces provided for the 1.8 million authorized pilgrims to cool down.

Last year various countries reported more than 300 deaths during the hajj, mostly Indonesians.

Hosting the hajj is a source of prestige for the Saudi royal family, and King Salman's official title includes the words "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", in Mecca and Medina.

The hajj has seen a number of disasters over the years, most recently in 2015 when a stampede during the "stoning the devil" ritual killed up to 2,300 people.

The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam

With reports from Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse