Hajj 2024 fatalities exceed 1,300 with mostly unregistered pilgrims

Hajj 2024 fatalities were reported to have exceeded 1,300 with mostly unregistered pilgrims.

“Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83% being unauthorised to perform Hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort,” the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

As reported, the deceased pilgrims belonged to more than 10 countries, ranging from the United States to Indonesia, and some governments are still updating their figures.

Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said that 83% of the 1,301 fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances in soaring temperatures to perform the Hajj rituals in and around the holy city of Makkah.

Speaking with the state-owned Al Ekhbariya TV, the minister said that 95 pilgrims were being treated in hospitals, some of whom were airlifted for treatment to the capital, Riyadh.

He said the identification process was delayed because there were no identification documents along with many of the deceased pilgrims.

The fatalities included more than 660 Egyptian pilgrims. All but 31 of them were unauthorized pilgrims, according to two officials in Cairo.

Following the tragedy, Egypt revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies that were responsible for sending unauthorized pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement Saturday, Egypt’s government said the 16 travel agencies failed to provide adequate services for pilgrims. It said these agencies illegally facilitated the travel of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia using visas that don’t allow holders to travel to Makkah.

Despite Saudi authorities cracking down on unauthorized pilgrims, expelling tens of thousands of people ahead of Hajj. Many, mostly Egyptians, managed to reach holy sites in and around Makkah, some on foot. And unlike authorized pilgrims, they had no hotels to return to to escape the scorching heat.