The deaths of more than a thousand pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for the hajj have put a spotlight on an underworld of illicit tour operators, smugglers and swindlers who profit off Muslims desperate to meet their religious duty to travel to Mecca.
Some pilgrims this year described watching people faint and passing bodies in the street as temperatures hit 120 degrees or higher.
On Sunday, in an interview on state television, the Saudi health minister, Fahd al-Jalajel, said that 83 percent of the more than 1,300 deaths occurred among pilgrims who had not had official permits.
“The rise in temperatures during the hajj season represented a big challenge this year,” he said.
“Unfortunately — and this is painful for all of us — those who didn’t have hajj permits walked long distances under the sun.”
Persons:
Fahd al, ”
Locations:
Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Saudi