More than 1,000 people died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, officials reported on Sunday, June 23.
The extremely high temperatures at the Islamic holy sites were a factor in the fatalities.
Over half of the deceased were from Egypt, according to officials in Cairo.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian authorities have revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies for facilitating unauthorized pilgrimages, as per NBC News.
The government confirmed the deaths of 31 authorized pilgrims due to chronic diseases but did not provide an official count for unauthorized pilgrims.
An Egyptian Cabinet official estimated at least 630 unauthorized pilgrims died, with most of the bodies at a morgue in Mecca.
Moreover, the fatalities included 165 from Indonesia, 98 from India, and dozens from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Malaysia.
Two U.S. pilgrims were also reported dead. Some countries, like Jordan and Tunisia, attributed the deaths to the soaring heat.
Daily temperatures during the Hajj reached between 46°C (117°F) and 49°C (120°F) in Mecca.
Meanwhile, the Saudi National Center for Meteorology reported that some pilgrims fainted during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual.
Moreover, the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, saw over 1.83 million Muslims participating this year, including more than 1.6 million from 22 countries and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents.
However, this year's death toll was significantly higher than usual for the pilgrimage, which has a history of deadly stampedes and epidemics.
