1,303 people died during the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. The Saudi authorities announced this. The death toll reached 1,100 people yesterday, according to a count by Agence France-Presse.

Most of the victims succumbed to the extreme heat. The pilgrims, some of whom were already in poor health, had been out in the sun for a long time. The temperature locally rose to nearly 52 degrees in the shade. About two million people participated in the Hajj.

According to Saudi Arabia, most victims did not agree to participate. A limited number of pilgrims from each country receive a permit for Hajj. In addition to official Hajj travel agencies, there are also underground service providers.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people illegally participated in the five-day Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. For example, they did not have access to air-conditioned rooms.

More than half of the deaths come from Egypt. The authorities of that country canceled the licenses of sixteen Hajj travel agencies. The companies are accused of providing little or no care to their customers, resulting in deaths, and selling illegal tickets.

These are pictures from last week of temperature measurements during Hajj:

Participating in the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. All Muslims who can afford it and are in good health must perform this Hajj at least once in their lives. Participants die every year. The number of deaths this year was relatively very high: last year several hundred pilgrims died while performing the Hajj.