Murderous heat claimed the lives of at least 1,300 Muslim faithful participating in this year's annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, according to the latest figures released Sunday by Saudi officials.
The death tally reported by 10 countries is the highest in nine years at the event that draws as many as 2 million people to the Saudi desert. More than half of the victims this year were from Egypt, Agence France Presse reported.
Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said that 83% of the fatalities were "unauthorized" pilgrims who walked long distances in soaring temperatures to perform the Hajj rituals in and around the holy city if Mecca, the Associated Press reported.
He said the dead were buried in Mecca.
"Authorized" pilgrims are those who fill out necessary paperword to obtain required visas and travel via reputable agencies.
Egypt's government said in a statement that 16 travel agencies failed to provide adequate services for pilgrims, and illegally arranged for their travel using visas that don't allow holders to travel to Mecca.
An already brutal desert enviroment for the pilgrimage is growing increasingly deadly with climate change.
Mecca's average maximum temperature in June is nearly 111 degrees Fahrenheit. But this year's Hajj pilgrims suffered through temperatures soaring to 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit last Monday. Temperatures are far higher as thousands of pilgrims pack together praying for hours under a fierce sun.
Government leaders have been attacked for not doing more to protect lives.
"The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks," a Saudi official told AFP in the government's first comments on the deaths.
The Saudi government had already confirmed 577 deaths for the two busiest days of Hajj: Last Saturday, when pilgrims gathered beneath a blazing sun to pray on Mount Arafat, and Sunday, when they participated in the "stoning of the devil" ritual in Mina.
"This happened amid difficult weather conditions and a very harsh temperature," said the Saudi official, who noted that the 577 figure was only partial did not cover all of Hajj, which formally ended on Wednesday.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims with the means must complete it at least once before they die.
