A top Saudi official defended the Gulf state’s handling of the hajj pilgrimage on Friday, following reports from multiple nations of over 1,100 fatalities, many of which were linked to the intense heat.
“The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks,” the official told AFP in the government’s first comments on the deaths.
Using official comments and accounts from diplomats involved in the reaction, an AFP count on Friday put the number at 1,126, with more than half coming from Egypt.
According to a senior Saudi official, the hajj’s biggest days—Saturday, when pilgrims congregated for hours of prayer under the scorching sun atop Mount Arafat, and Sunday, when they took part in the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina—saw the Saudi authorities certify 577 deaths.
“This happened amid difficult weather conditions and a very harsh temperature,” the official said, while acknowledging that the 577 figure was partial and did not cover all of hajj, which formally ended on Wednesday.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and it is a duty that every Muslim who can do so must fulfill before they die.
Officials from Saudi Arabia had previously declared that 1.6 million of the 1.8 million pilgrims taking part this year were foreigners.
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