98 Indians died during annual Haj pilgrimage: MEA

Pilgrims walk outdoors for hours in severe heat around sites that surround the desert. Suggesting some essentials gear for the same state that one should be dressed for heat since daytime temperatures soar past 40 degrees Celcius. Sun hats, umbrellas and fabrics from native countries are suggested. Image: AP

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that ninety-eight Indians have died during the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca largely due to natural causes, chronic illnesses and old age,

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the total number of deaths of Indians in the entire Haj period last year was 187.As many as 1,75,000 Indian pilgrims visited Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, for Haj this year.”Every year a large number of pilgrims from India attend Haj, and some of them unfortunately pass away during the Haj period. This year, 175000 Indian pilgrims visited Makkah for Haj,” Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.”The Haj period is from May 9 to July 22. This year, till now, 98 deaths have been reported. The deaths have been due to natural causes, chronic illnesses, and old age,” he said.”Six people died on the day of Arafat and four were accident-related deaths.

Last year, total deaths in the entire Haj period were 187,” Jaiswal said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from this year's hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said, more than half unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.

The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 Egyptians who died, 630 were unregistered pilgrims.

Around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once.