(Riyadh) A senior Saudi official on Friday defended the kingdom’s management of the hajj pilgrimage after the death of more than 1,100 people in scorching heat, saying the state “did not fail”.
“The State did not fail, but there was an error of judgment on the part of people who did not measure the risks incurred,” this official told AFP, in the first official reaction to the high number of deaths.
A count established Friday by AFP, based on official declarations and information provided by diplomats, puts the death toll at 1,119, more than half of whom came from Egypt.
The Saudi official said authorities had confirmed 577 deaths for the two busiest hajj days: Saturday, when pilgrims gathered for hours of prayer under the blazing sun on Mount Arafat, and Sunday, when they participated in the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina.
“This happened against a backdrop of difficult weather conditions and very severe temperatures,” the official said, while acknowledging that the figure of 577 was partial and did not cover the entire hajj, which officially ended Wednesday.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and every Muslim who can afford it must do it at least once in their life.
Saudi officials said earlier that 1.8 million pilgrims participated this year, a total similar to last year, and that 1.6 million of them came from abroad.
Permits to participate in the hajj are allocated to countries according to a quota system.
Even for those who can get them, the high costs make the irregular route — which costs thousands of dollars less — more attractive.
“We can estimate the number of unregistered pilgrims at around 400,000,” the Saudi official said on Friday.
“Most of them are of one nationality,” the official added, likely referring to Egypt. Arab diplomats told AFP earlier this week that Egypt had 658 deaths, including 630 unregistered pilgrims.