"At least 16 tourism companies defrauded and illegally transferred pilgrims, to whom they did not provide any service," according to a statement published by the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli on its website.
“Consequently, the Prime Minister gave instructions to quickly withdraw the licenses.
Egypt estimates that 50,752 pilgrims regularly traveled to Saudi Arabia during their trip to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, but there is no way of knowing how many did so by non-legal routes.
More than 900 Muslim pilgrims died during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, marked by high temperatures that reached 52 degrees Celsius, according to a compilation of data based on various sources released today by the EFE news agency.
Egypt is the most affected country, with at least 325 pilgrims dead, the majority due to heatstroke, a medical source told EFE on condition of anonymity, despite the Arab country's government having recognized only 28 as belonging to its official delegation.
However, she admitted that it is difficult to compile data on all her nationals, as a large number traveled to fulfill the ritual, which ended last Wednesday, irregularly, in reference to the fact that they did not have been included in the quotas of people defined by Saudi Arabia for each country and who travel on official missions.
Egypt has formed a crisis cell to monitor this issue, headed by the country's prime minister.
Both Egypt and Jordan, which recorded at least 75 deaths, accused "individuals and agencies" of facilitating these irregular trips and promised to punish them.
Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that its deceased citizens died due to "extreme heat".
Saudi Arabia issues permits and visas for each country to participate in the ritual. However, due to the high cost of this trip, which has an average cost of 5,000 dollars (4,675 euros) per person, many opt for other routes that the Saudi kingdom considers illegal.
The faithful who traveled unofficially, for example on tourist visas, did not have access to air-conditioned facilities and tents during the pilgrimage, leaving the streets of Islam's holiest city as their only refuge from the extreme heat.
The Saudi kingdom hailed the "success" of the pilgrimage and is spending millions of dollars to welcome the faithful, refusing responsibility from the authorities.
"The State did not fail, but there was an error of judgment on the part of people who did not measure the risks involved," the official told the news agency France-Presse (AFP).
In Tunisia, which recorded 49 deaths, there have already been political consequences.
The country's President, Kais Said, fired the Minister of Religious Affairs, Ibrahim al Shaibi, on Friday, shortly after the number of Tunisian faithful killed in the "Hajj" became known.
The second most affected country was Indonesia, with around 200 deaths, followed by India with 98, Malaysia with 34 and Bangladesh with 31.
Morocco announced at least 20 deaths, while the Iraqi Kurdistan government recorded 19 deaths during the pilgrimage.
Other countries such as Iran, Libya, the Netherlands, the United States and Syria also announced deaths.
However, in the vast majority of communications, the causes of death of these faithful are not indicated and the number could increase in the coming days.
The AFP carried out another count and on Friday estimated more than 1,100 deaths.
'Hajj' is one of the five pillars of Islam and is obligatory, at least once in a lifetime, for all Muslims whose health and resources permit it.
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