The Saudi Health Minister, Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, announced that over 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, with the majority being unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances in extreme high temperatures to perform the Hajj rituals in and around the holy city of Mecca. The minister stated that 83% of the fatalities were unauthorised pilgrims, while the remaining 17% were official pilgrims who were better equipped to handle the heat.
The authorities in Saudi Arabia took measures to crack down on unauthorized pilgrims, expelling tens of thousands of people, but many managed to reach holy sites in and around Mecca, often on foot. The unauthorized pilgrims had no access to hotels or other facilities to escape the scorching heat, making them more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses and deaths.
The majority of the fatalities, over 660, were Egyptians, with all but 31 of them being unauthorized pilgrims. Egypt has since revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies that helped unauthorized pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia. The authorities in Egypt have also reported that two officials from the travel agencies have been referred to the public prosecutor for investigations.
Besides the Egyptians, pilgrims from other countries also died during the Hajj, including 165 from Indonesia, 98 from India, dozens from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Malaysia, and two US citizens. While some countries have attributed the deaths to the soaring heat, the exact causes of death have not been independently confirmed.
Saudi Health Minister, Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel
The Hajj pilgrimage is a mandatory religious duty for every able Muslim, and it attracts millions of pilgrims from around the world every year. However, the sheer number of participants makes ensuring their safety a challenge for the authorities in Saudi Arabia. The country has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures, but the recent high temperatures and heat-related deaths have raised concerns about the safety of the pilgrimage.
The Saudi National Centre for Meteorology reported that daily high temperatures in Mecca and sacred sites ranged between 46C and 49C during the Hajj period, making it one of the hottest Hajj seasons on record. The extreme heat has led to several heat-related incidents, including pilgrims fainting in the scorching heat.
In addition to the heat-related deaths, the Hajj has also seen other deadly incidents in the past, including stampedes and epidemics. The deadliest incident was a 2015 stampede in Mina that killed over 2,400 pilgrims, while a crane collapse at Mecca’s Grand Mosque earlier the same year killed 111. The second-deadliest incident was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people.
Despite these challenges, the Hajj remains one of the most significant religious gatherings in the world, with over 1.83 million Muslims performing the Hajj in 2024, including over 1.6 million from 22 countries and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents. The Saudi authorities will need to continue to improve their safety measures and crowd control to ensure the well-being and safety of the pilgrims who attend this sacred pilgrimage.
