Riyadh

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) said on Sunday (June 23) that more than 1,300 pilgrims died during this year's Hajj which took place amid intense heat. A report by the Saudi Press Agency said that the number of fatalities reached 1,301, with 83 per cent of them being unauthorised to perform Hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort.

The victims were from 10 countries stretching from the United States to Indonesia. Temperatures in Mecca climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius this year. Saudi officials told the news agency AFP that 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year and that 1.6 million came from abroad.

Riyadh says this year's Hajj was 'successful'

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Saudi Arabia's Health Minister Fahd Al-Jalajel on Sunday described the management of the Hajj as "successful". Health Minister Al-Jalajel said that the health system "provided more than 465,000 specialised treatment services, including 141,000 services to those who didn't obtain official authorisation to perform Hajj."

Also read | Hajj 2024: Egypt cracks down on tourism firms, accuses them of causing pilgrim deaths

"The health system addressed numerous cases of heat stress this year, with some individuals still under care. Among the deceased were several elderly and chronically ill individuals," he added.

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The health minister pointed out that deaths were caused by pilgrims "walking long distances under direct sunlight without adequate shelter or comfort." However, he did not specify how many deaths were attributed to the intense heat.

'400K unregistered pilgrims took part'

Meanwhile, a Saudi official told AFP that around 400,000 unregistered pilgrims took part in Hajj this time, and "almost all of them (were) from one nationality", an apparent reference to Egypt.

This remark came as Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies to be stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor over illegal pilgrimages to Mecca. 

It said the rise in the number of deaths of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims stemmed from some companies which "organised the Hajj programmes using a personal visit visa, which prevents its holders from entering Mecca" via official channels.

(With inputs from agencies)