As many as 98 Indians are among hundreds of pilgrims who have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca amid the scorching heat.
Addressing a press briefing, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 175,000 Indian citizens are already on Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, of which 98 have died. He added that the deaths have happened on account of natural causes, chronic illness, and also old age.
Last year, the number of of Indians who died during Hajj was 187, he said.
According to an AFP report, over 600 people have died during the ongoing Hajj pilgrimage.
While Saudi Arabia has not officially released the number of deaths, several countries have said some of their pilgrims died due to the heat that swept across the holy sites at Mecca, including Jordan and Tunisia, AP report said.
The Hajj, an annual pilgrimage, began last week and annually millions of Muslims head to Mecca to perform religious rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries ago. The mass gathering – once-in-a-lifetime duty for able-bodied Muslims ended on Wednesday.
This year, more than 1.83 million Muslims performed the Hajj including more than 1.6 million pilgrims from 22 countries and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents, AP reported citing Saudi Hajj authorities.
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First uploaded on: 21-06-2024 at 17:34 IST
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