CAIRO: Egypt withdrew the working licenses of 16 tourism firms and referred them to the general public prosecutor, accusing them of being chargeable for the deaths of Egyptian pilgrims in Mecca, a disaster unit tasked with addressing the state of affairs mentioned on Saturday (Jun 22).
Medical and safety sources say at the least 530 Egyptians died throughout this yr’s Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, whereas the assertion from the unit, shaped on Thursday and headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, mentioned 31 deaths were confirmed as a result of chronic illness.
The tourism firms which facilitated the journey of those that died didn’t present them with providers of any variety, together with medical, the assertion mentioned with out naming the businesses concerned.
The companies are being blamed for sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on private go to visas, fairly than Haj visas that enable entry to Mecca the place Haj rituals happen.
Medical providers provided by Saudi authorities to alleviate the hardships of the pilgrimage usually are not provided to these travelling with a private visa. The pilgrims who died needed to stroll via the desert into Mecca to keep away from arrest or deportation, the assertion added.