Saudi Arabian authorities confirmed in a statement today that more than 1,300 pilgrims had died during the pilgrimage.
Photo: AA
More than 80% of the deaths are due to the extreme heat, according to CNN, and unauthorized pilgrimages to Mecca are thought to be likely to further increase the number of infections.
The Saudi government put the official death toll at 1,301. A government statement said 83 percent of the dead were people who “were not permitted to perform Hajj” and who “walked long distances in direct sunlight and without proper comfort.” Among the dead were “many elderly and chronically ill.” Authorities said they had identified the dead.
Saudi officials said cases of unregistered pilgrimages have compounded the problem this year.
Saudi Arabia requires all pilgrims to obtain one of 1.8 million available licenses to legally enter Mecca. These licenses are worth thousands of dollars, which is why many people try to enter the region illegally. Pilgrims without a license cannot travel on organized tour buses, which are air-conditioned and have easy access to water and food.
The government also claimed that most of the travel was unauthorized, making identification difficult and delaying the release of an official death toll.
Following the Saudi Arabian statement, the Egyptian government decided to revoke the licenses of 16 tourist companies organizing illegal pilgrimages to Mecca. The official Egyptian death toll was 31, but Reuters reported that between 500 and 600 Egyptian pilgrims were killed in Mecca.
More than 1,000 pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia, with temperatures in Mecca reaching over 50 degrees Celsius, killing more than 550 pilgrims.
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