Death toll at Hajj pilgrimage rises to 1,301 due to Excess Heat
83% of the 1,301 fatalities, according to Saudi health minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, were unapproved pilgrims who travelled great distances in intense heat to complete the Hajj rites in and around the holy city of Mecca.
The minister added that 95 pilgrims were receiving medical attention in hospitals, with some of them being airlifted to the capital, Riyadh, in an interview with the state-run television station Al Ekhbariya TV.
He did not elaborate when he mentioned that the deceased were interred in Mecca.
Among the dead were about 660 Egyptians. Two authorities in Cairo claim that all but 31 of them were unapproved pilgrims.
According to officials, egypt has cancelled the licences of sixteen travel companies that assisted unauthorised pilgrims in reaching Saudi Arabia.
A crackdown by Saudi authorities on unapproved pilgrims resulted in tens of thousands of people being expelled. However, many people—mostly Egyptians—managed to go on foot to the sacred locations in and around Mecca. In contrast to licenced pilgrims, they lacked accommodations to which they might retreat from the intense heat.