Saudi authorities announce Hajj pilgrims death toll, give reason for massive fatalities

Authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have announced that more than 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage due to extreme high temperatures at Islamic holy sites.

The country’s Health Minister, Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, said that 83% of the 1,301 fatalities were unauthorised pilgrims who walked long distances in intense temperatures to perform the Hajj rituals in and around the holy city of Mecca.

He added that 95 pilgrims are currently receiving medical attention in hospitals, with some being transported by air to Riyadh for treatment.

The minister also mentioned that the lack of identification documents among the deceased pilgrims has caused a delay in the identification process.

Egypt recorded the most fatalities, with about 660 citizens confirmed dead . All but 31 of them were unauthorised pilgrims, according to two officials in Cairo.

The casualties also included 165 pilgrims from Indonesia, 98 from India, and dozens more from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Malaysia, according to an Associated Press tally. About six Somalis and six U.S. citizens were also reported dead.

During this year’s Hajj period, daily high temperatures ranged between 46 degrees Celsius and 49 degrees Celsius.

More than 1.83 million Muslims performed the Hajj in 2024, including more than 1.6 million from 22 countries and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents, according to the Saudi Hajj authorities.

In response to the incident,  the Egyptian government revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies found to be involved in arranging illegal trips for unregistered pilgrims, following the deaths of hundreds during the exercise.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli ordered the license revocations, accusing the agencies of defrauding unregistered pilgrims.