TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - More than 1,300 pilgrims died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Health Minister Fahd Al-Jalajel said on Sunday, June 23. Two hundred and thirty-six of them are Indonesian pilgrims.

"A total of 1,301 Hajj pilgrims died due to natural causes, and more than 83 percent of them were unregistered pilgrims," the minister told state-run Al Ekhbariya TV,

A total of 95 pilgrims were treated in hospitals, some of whom had to be airlifted to the capital Riyadh for treatment, the minister was quoted by Sputnik as saying.

In total, Saudi doctors provided emergency medical care to pilgrims 30,000 times during this year's Hajj. The hospital provided 6,500 additional beds in a number of places used for the pilgrimage.

During the 2023 Hajj season, as many as 240 people died and more than 10,000 pilgrims fell ill due to the hot weather. Meanwhile, according to a Reuters count, more than 1,000 people died during this year's hajj due to extreme hot weather.

Most of the dead were Egyptians, with sources telling Reuters on Sunday that the death toll in Egypt had risen to 672 people, while 25 were missing.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government says 236 Indonesians have died during the Hajj pilgrimage.

REUTERS | ANTARA

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