The Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly, has issued an order to revoke the licenses of 16 Egyptian travel agencies that have allegedly made travel arrangements for unregistered religious pilgrims without offering the required support services, which in turn has led to the loss of many lives from heat exhaustion during Hajj .
Egyptian cabinet announced that the licenses of 16 tour operators will be revoked by order of the prime minister. Additionally, their managers will be referred to the public prosecutor and a fine will be imposed to support the families of the pilgrims who lost their lives due to their actions.
According to local media reports, the travel agencies allegedly sent tourists to Saudi Arabia using regular visas instead of the designated Hajj visas, which allow entry to Mecca.
The Prime Minister has chaired emergency meeting of the government officials over the weekend, where collaboration between Saudi authorities and Egypt in facilitating the repatriation of the victims’ bodies and investigation the cause of their demise have been discussed.
Furthermore, Sameh Shoukry, the Foreign Minister of Egypt, reported that consular teams had carried out on-site visits to hospitals in Saudi Arabia to collect data on Egyptian patients undergoing treatment, as well as those who had passed away, with the purpose of notifying their relatives.
This year, the Hajj drew the attention of 1.8 million devotees from various parts of the globe. Tragically, more than 1,300 individuals, with at least 658 Egyptians among them, lost their lives during this annual pilgrimage.
The scorching temperatures in Mecca were responsible for numerous fatalities, primarily due to the extreme heat. On June 17, the Grand Mosque in Mecca experienced a scorching peak temperature of 125.2F (+51.8C), as recorded by the Saudi meteorological center.
On June 16, a total of 2,764 instances of heat-related illness were documented.
The Saudi Arabian Health Ministry announced that a total of 1,301 individuals lost their lives during the pilgrimage. Among the deceased, more than 600 were Egyptian pilgrims. Additionally, Jordanian diplomats confirmed that 60 Jordanians passed away due to extreme heat. Tunisia’s foreign ministry disclosed that 35 Tunisian pilgrims perished as a result of a significant increase in temperatures. Indonesia reported 132 deaths of Indonesian pilgrims, with three fatalities attributed to heat stroke. Furthermore, thirteen pilgrims from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq were reported to have died from heatstroke. Tragically, five women pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir also succumbed to heat stroke on Mount Arafat and in Muzdalifah. Lastly, pilgrims from Iran and Senegal were also among those who lost their lives.
Nonetheless, in the recent statement, Egyptian government confirmed that some deaths were a result of the heat-triggered health problems such as high blood pressure.
According to a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, it has been projected that the heat stress experienced by Hajj pilgrims will surpass the “extreme danger threshold” between the years 2047 and 2052 as a result of climate change.
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