More than a thousand people died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, authorities announced. Muslim worshipers faced extremely high temperatures, reaching up to 46 degrees Celsius, during the pilgrimage to the holy site in Mecca this month.
More than half of the dead were from Egypt, according to officials in Cairo. Egypt announced the cancellation of licenses for 16 travel agencies that helped unauthorized pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia, authorities said.
Saudi Arabia has not commented on the deaths during the pilgrimage.
One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj is a sacred duty that every Muslim believer must undertake at least once in their lifetime.
Egypt's government announced that 31 authorized pilgrims died of chronic illnesses during this year's pilgrimage, but did not provide official figures for other pilgrims.
However, a government official said at least 630 other Egyptians died during the pilgrimage.
Saudi authorities cracked down on unauthorized pilgrims, deporting tens of thousands of them. But many, mostly Egyptians, were able to reach the holy sites in and around Mecca, some on foot. Unlike authorized pilgrims, they had no hotels to escape the scorching heat.
According to data from the Associated Press news agency, the death toll includes 165 pilgrims from Indonesia, 98 from India and dozens from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Malaysia. The death of two American pilgrims was also announced.
During the Hajj pilgrimage this year, high temperatures ranged from 46 to 49 degrees Celsius in Mecca and the holy places around the city, according to data from the meteorological service in Saudi Arabia.
According to Saudi data, more than 1 million Muslims were part of the holy pilgrimage to Mecca this year.
Taken from VOA
