Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that more than 1,300 pilgrims had died during the Hajj pilgrimage held in scorching heat, and most of those who died did not have official permits.
“Unfortunately, the death toll reached 1,301, 83 percent of whom were unauthorized to perform Hajj and died after walking long distances in direct sunlight, without any shelter or facilities,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The number was more than 1,100, according to figures released last week by AFP based on official statements and reports from diplomats involved in their countries’ responses.
Arab diplomats told AFP that 658 of the dead were Egyptians – 630 of whom were non-registered pilgrims.
Riyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or given its own numbers until Sunday.
However, on Friday a senior Saudi official gave AFP a partial count of 577 deaths on the two busiest days of the hajj: June 15, when pilgrims gathered for hours of prayer under the hot sun on Mount Arafat, and June 16, when they took part in the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina.
‘Wrong decision’
The official also defended Riyadh’s response, saying “the state did not fail, but there was bad judgment on the part of people who did not assess the risks.”
Saudi Health Minister Fahad al-Jalajel on Sunday described the management of this year’s Hajj as “successful”, SPA reports.
He said the health system “provided more than 465,000 specialized treatment services, including 141,000 services for those who did not receive official permission to perform Hajj,” according to SPA, which summarized an interview he gave to the state-affiliated Al-Akhbariya channel.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims must complete at least once in their lives.
Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims attended this year, the same as last year, with 1.6 million coming from abroad.
For the past several years, the rituals have been performed primarily outdoors during Saudi Arabia’s brutal summer heat.
This year temperatures in Mecca reached 51.8 °C (125 °F).
On Saturday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly ordered the licences of 16 tourism companies to be revoked and their managers to be referred to the public prosecutor for organising illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, the Egyptian Cabinet said.
It said the rise in the number of deaths of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims was due to some companies “organising Hajj programmes using personal visit visas, which prevent its holders from entering Mecca through official channels.”
Hajj permits are allocated to countries based on a quota system and distributed to individuals through a lottery.
Even among those who can obtain permits, many are tempted to perform the Hajj without a permit because of the heavy costs, though they remain at risk of arrest and deportation if caught.
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