Egypt’s government is taking action against tourism companies that facilitate travel to Saudi Arabia and said on Saturday it had suspended operations after hundreds of pilgrims died in sweltering desert heat during the annual hajj to Mecca. Licenses for 16 companies.
Travelers endure record temperatures during hajj, killing at least 450 Temperature range is 108 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (42 to 49 degrees Celsius). But the actual death toll is expected to rise significantly as the government gets more accurate death tolls. (Egypt is one of them, officially recognizing only 31 deaths.)
When the Egyptian government announced the suspension of 16 tourism companies, it said these companies failed to provide important services such as medical care to pilgrims. The statement said the companies failed to provide “proper accommodation” for pilgrims, leaving them “exhausted from the heat.”
The Associated Press reported that some travel agencies may not have officially registered to participate in the pilgrimage. To avoid the high cost of group tours. And, the AP said, some companies have been criticized for allowing pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia on personal visas rather than on hajj visas, which would have given them access to medical services and travel to the holy site.
Mahmoud Qasim, a member of Egypt’s parliament, said travel companies were “leaving pilgrims in limbo and turning off their phones” so they couldn’t hear travelers’ calls for help.
There were also complaints that pilgrims were not provided with adequate cooling stations or water in the sweltering heat.
The number of unregistered tourists – combined with the sweltering desert heat – could leave Saudi Arabia unprepared to handle such large crowds.
Tunisia’s government said the death toll of pilgrims from the country was expected to rise from the 49 reported on Friday as the number of people traveling on tourist visas became clearer.
The hajj has been the scene of many tragedies, including a stampede in 2015 that killed more than 2,200 people. In recent years, as temperatures have continued to rise, many pilgrims have died due to heat stress.
The Saudi Arabian government said that more than 1.8 million Muslims traveled to Mecca during this year’s Hajj, of which 1.6 million came from outside Saudi Arabia.
Hager Al-Hakeem contributed reporting from Luxor, Egypt.
