The Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, on Saturday tasked the authorities with withdrawing the licenses of "16 tourism companies that circumvented regulations to transport pilgrims improperly and referred their officials to the public prosecution." During a meeting of the crisis cell formed to monitor and manage the situation regarding the deaths of Egyptian pilgrims, Madbouly stated that the total number of the official Egyptian mission exceeds 50,000 pilgrims. He added that the situation of the official mission is being monitored daily by the responsible officials, and the situation of the irregular pilgrims is also being followed up, despite the absence of recorded data about them in the relevant ministries, the consulate, or the medical mission.
In an official statement, Madbouly indicated that "this crisis cell meeting aims to monitor the conditions of Egyptian pilgrims, provide support and assistance to the families of the deceased, and coordinate with the Saudi authorities to facilitate procedures for the deceased, and provide all necessary facilitation in this regard, as well as study the causes of what happened and work to prevent its recurrence." The crisis cell headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly decided to withdraw the licenses of 16 tourism companies after a report from the cell's technical secretariat indicated the companies' involvement in improperly transporting pilgrims. Additionally, fines will be imposed for the benefit of the families of the pilgrims whose deaths were caused by the companies' actions.
