Saudi Arabia reported that more than 1,300
pilgrims lost their lives during the hajj pilgrimage, which took place amidst scorching temperatures. The Saudi Press Agency stated that 83 percent of the deceased were unauthorized to perform hajj and had walked long distances under direct sunlight without proper shelter or comfort.
According to news agency AFP, the death toll exceeded 1,100 last week.
The Saudi health minister, Fahd Al-Jalajel, described the management of the hajj this year as successful. He said the health system provided more than 465,000 specialized treatment services, including 141,000 services to those who didn't obtain official authorization to perform hajj.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once in their lives. Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, with 1.6 million coming from abroad. Temperatures in Mecca this year climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).
On Saturday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor over illegal pilgrimages to Mecca.
The rise in the number of
deaths of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims stemmed from some companies which organized the hajj programmes using personal visit visas, preventing their holders from entering Mecca via official channels.
Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery, but the steep costs spur many to attempt the hajj without a permit, risking arrest and deportation if caught.