Pilgrim deaths in Saudi Arabia: Egypt cancels license of 16 tourism companies for violating visa norms

On June 22, Egypt withdrew licenses of 16 tourism companies and directed legal action after officials confirmed the death of over 1,000 pilgrims amid scorching heat during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has formed a crisis unit that revealed that over 530 Egyptian pilgrims had died during this year’s pilgrimage. However, 31 deaths were due to chronic illnesses, the crisis unit confirmed.

According to a statement issued by the unit, the 16 implicated had allegedly failed to provide essential services, including medical care, to the pilgrims. These companies were accused of arrangin the travel under personal visit visas instead of haj visas, which is necessary for access to Mecca’s ritual sites. Without haj visas, pilgrims were unable to benefit from Saudi-provided medical assistance, which reportedly forced them to traverse the desert on foot to reach Mecca and avoid deportation.

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The tourism companies which facilitated the travel of those who died did not provide them with services of any kind, including medical, the statement said without naming the companies involved.

“The agencies are being blamed for sending pilgrims to Saudi on personal visit visas, rather than haj visas that allow access to Mecca where haj rituals take place. Medical services offered by Saudi authorities to alleviate the hardships of the pilgrimage are not offered to those traveling with a personal visa. The pilgrims who died had to walk through the desert into Mecca to avoid arrest or deportation,” the statement read, according to Reuters.

Moreover, Egyptian authorities criticised the agencies for failing to secure suitable accommodation for the pilgrims, which reportedly caused exhaustion in extreme temperatures. The statement clarified that while 31 deaths were officially recorded among registered Egyptian pilgrims, the majority of casualties occurred among unregistered pilgrims.

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The haj pilgrimage this year has seen a tragic toll across various nationalities due to a severe tempratures in Mecca, which hovered around 51 degrees Celsius.

(With inputs from agencies)