Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has taken decisive action, ordering 16 tourism companies to lose their licenses and referring their managers to the public prosecutor. This move follows illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, where over 1,100 deaths were reported this year, with many attributed to extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.
According to an AFP tally, the death toll included 658 Egyptians, with 630 of them being unregistered pilgrims. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had previously instructed a crisis team, led by Madbouly, to monitor the situation.
“The prime minister has directed the cancellation of these companies’ licenses, referred their managers to the public prosecutor, and imposed fines to assist the families of deceased pilgrims,” stated the cabinet.
The statement highlighted that the increase in deaths among unregistered Egyptian pilgrims was due to some companies arranging hajj programs using personal visit visas, which restrict entry to Mecca through official channels.
The cabinet also reported that over 50,000 Egyptians participated in the pilgrimage officially, with 31 deaths attributed to chronic illnesses. It criticized the implicated travel firms for failing to provide adequate services, leading unregistered pilgrims to endure exhaustion amid high temperatures.
On another note, a senior Saudi official defended their management of the pilgrimage, acknowledging 577 confirmed deaths over the busiest days of the hajj, which saw challenging weather conditions.
The hajj, a fundamental pillar of Islam, requires Muslims with the means to undertake the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
