More than 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, as temperatures reached 49 degrees last week at holy sites in and around Mecca.
The toll is rising in Saudi Arabia. The torrid heat which affected the sacred sites of Mecca and its surroundings caused more than 1,300 victims, according to the Saudi authorities.
The Saudi health minister said that 95 pilgrims were still being treated in area hospitals, and some had been flown for treatment in the capital, Riyadh.
He also said the dead were buried in Mecca, without giving further details. The process of identifying victims was delayed, with many of the deceased pilgrims lacking identity documents.
Pilgrims without authorization
The Saudi health minister said that 83% of the 1,301 people who died were unauthorized pilgrims.
Saudi authorities expelled tens of thousands of people who went to the pilgrimage without permission. However, despite the bans, many pilgrims, including more than 50,000 Egyptians, managed to visit the holy sites in and around Mecca.
Unlike authorized pilgrims, they had no hotel to return to to escape the scorching heat.
In a press release published on Saturday, the Egyptian government said the 16 travel agencies failed to provide adequate services to pilgrims. He added that these agencies illegally facilitated pilgrims’ travel to Saudi Arabia using visas that do not allow their holders to travel to Mecca.
The government also indicated that those responsible for these companies were referred to the Attorney General for investigation.
According to state-run daily Al-Ahram, some travel agencies and tour operators sold Saudi tourist visas to Egyptians wanting to go to Hajj, violating Saudi regulations that require exclusive visas for pilgrims.
The agencies left pilgrims to fend for themselves in Mecca in the scorching heat, the newspaper said.
According to the Associated Press, 165 Indonesian pilgrims, 98 Indian pilgrims and dozens of Jordanian, Tunisian, Moroccan, Algerian and Malaysian pilgrims, as well as two American citizens.