(Updates with statement from Egyptian cabinet)
CAIRO, June 20 (Reuters) – Egypt formed a crisis unit on
Thursday to investigate the deaths of Egyptians taking part in
the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca during extreme heat, after
medical and security sources said at least 530 Egyptians had
died and 31 were missing.
In recent days hundreds of people from different countries
have died in punishing conditions for the haj pilgrimage in the
Saudi Arabian city, where temperatures have at times exceeded 51
degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit).
The medical source, who was with the official Egyptian haj
delegation, said the majority of those who died were not
formally registered for the event with the authorities, which
meant they could not access tents.
In a statement announcing the formation of the crisis unit
on the orders of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s cabinet
said 28 deaths had been confirmed from a group of 50,752
officially registered Egyptian pilgrims.
It gave no toll for unregistered pilgrims, saying Egypt was
seeking an accurate inventory of the dead and missing and was
coordinating with Saudi counterparts to arrange for the transfer
of bodies.
Companies that had facilitated travel for unregistered
pilgrims would be investigated and penalised, the cabinet added.
A Reuters witness said that during the pilgrimage thousands
of pilgrims had lain on the streets, exposed to the sun, on the
climb to Mount Arafat, one of the integral rituals of the
journey.
The bodies of dead pilgrims were later covered with Ihram
cloth – a simple garb worn by pilgrims – until medical vehicles
arrived, the witness said.
The fifth pillar of Islam, the haj is mandatory once in a
lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it and is
the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity.
This year’s event, which began last Friday, is expected to draw
nearly 2 million pilgrims.
Climate scientists have said rising temperatures pose a
growing threat to the event, although heat-related deaths along
the haj are not new, and have been recorded back to the 1400s.
(Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan
Writing by Farah Saafan
Editing by Aidan Lewis, Frances Kerry and Barbara Lewis)
