Egypt has ordered 16 tourism companies to be stripped of their licences for illegally facilitating pilgrims’ travel to Mecca. The Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has also referred the managers of these travel firms to the public prosecutor’s office, as per the cabinet. The crackdown came after reports emerged of hundreds of people dying during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Most of these deaths have been attributed to extreme heat as temperatures soared past 51 degrees Celsius. An AFP tally on June 21, compiling official statements and reports from diplomats, put the toll at 1,126, with 658 of them from Egypt. Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has ordered that a “crisis cell” headed by Madbouly follow up on the deaths of the pilgrims.Is Cairo passing the buck for the high death pilgrim death toll? Watch for more details.
