INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Egypt withdrew the operating licenses of 16 tourism companies and referred them to the public prosecutor, accusing them of being responsible
for the deaths of Egyptian pilgrims in Mecca, a crisis unit tasked with addressing the situation said on Saturday.Medical and security
sources say at least 530 Egyptians died during this year&s hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, while the statement from the unit, formed on Thursday
and headed by prime minister Mostafa Madbouly, said 31 deaths were confirmed as a result of chronic illness, Reuters reported.The tourism
companies which facilitated the travel of those who died did not provide them with services of any kind, including medical, the statement
said without naming the companies involved.The agencies are being blamed for sending pilgrims to Saudi on personal visit visas, rather than
hajj visas that allow access to Mecca where hajj rituals take place.Medical services offered by Saudi authorities to alleviate the hardships
of the pilgrimage are not offered to those traveling with a personal visa.The pilgrims who died had to walk through the desert into Mecca to
avoid arrest or deportation, the statement added.Egyptian authorities also say those travel agencies did not provide the pilgrims with
&appropriate accommodation,& adding that this caused pilgrims& &exhaustion due to the high temperatures.&Egyptian authorities also
documented 31 deaths among registered Egyptian pilgrims, citing &chronic diseases& as the cause of deaths, Reuters reported.Most of those
who died were unregistered, the statement said.In recent days hundreds of people from different countries have died in punishing conditions
for the hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi city, where temperatures have at times exceeded 51 degrees Celsius. Related stories:First group of
Afghan pilgrims returns home from HajjTunisian president sacks minister after the death of dozens on Haj pilgrimageThe post Egypt cracks
down on tourism companies after over 530 deaths during hajj first appeared on Ariana News.
