Egypt Authorities Crack Down on Pilgrim Death-linked Tourism Companies

Fatal Pilgrimage:

This year’s Haj pilgrimage has resulted in the terrible deaths of over 1,000 pilgrims from various nations due to extreme temperatures in Mecca, which hovered around 51 degrees Celsius. Egypt revoked the licenses of 16 travel businesses and threatened legal action after officials confirmed the deaths of over 1,000 pilgrims during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. 

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has established a crisis team after learning that over 530 Egyptian pilgrims died during this year’s journey. The crisis unit revealed that 31 people died because of chronic conditions. 

According to a statement issued by the unit, the 16 accused reportedly neglected to provide vital services, including medical care, to pilgrims. These companies were accused of arranging travel using personal visit visas rather than haj visas, which are required to attend Mecca’s ceremonial sites. Without haj permits, pilgrims were unable to receive Saudi medical care, forcing them to walk across the desert to reach Mecca and risk deportation. The statement stated that the tourism businesses that enabled the travel of those who died did not offer them any services, including medical care, but it did not name the companies. 

“The agencies are being criticized for sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on personal visit visas rather than haj visas, which grant entrance to Mecca, where haj ceremonies are performed. Medical assistance provided by Saudi officials to ameliorate the challenges of pilgrimage is not available to anyone travelling on a personal visa. The pilgrims who died had to go over the desert to Mecca to avoid arrest or expulsion, according to the statement. 

Furthermore, Egyptian officials criticized the agencies for failing to provide adequate lodging for the pilgrims, which reportedly resulted in weariness in high temperatures. The statement noted that while 31 deaths were officially documented among registered Egyptian travellers, many casualties were among unregistered pilgrims.

The haj pilgrimage this year has taken a devastating toll among diverse nations due to extreme temperatures in Mecca, which hovered above 51 degrees Celsius.