Hundreds of people are thought to have died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia - most of them due to extreme heat as temperatures soared past 51C (123F).

AFP news agency quoted an Arab diplomat as saying 658 Egyptians had died. Indonesia said that more than 200 of its nationals had died. India said 98 people were known to have died.

Pakistan, Malaysia, Jordan, Iran, Senegal, Sudan and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region have also confirmed deaths. The US believes a number of Americans died, the Wall Street Journal reported. Friends and relatives have been searching for those missing in hospitals and posting messages online.

The fallout from the number of deaths has been growing. On Saturday Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stripped 16 tourism companies of their licences and referred their managers to prosecutors for enabling illegal pilgrimages to Mecca.

On Friday Jordan said it had detained several travel agents who facilitated the unofficial travel of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Meanwhile Tunisian President Kais Saied fired the minister of religious affairs after local media reported 49 Tunisians had died, many of whom were unregistered pilgrims.