161 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims die in Saudi Arabia

JAKARTA. December 3. KAZINFORM Indonesian government-sanctioned hajj organizer said that at least 161 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims had died due to various illnesses when they conducted their religious duties in the holy cities of Macca and Madhinah in Saudi Arabia this year, Antara news agency reported on Thursday, Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

The death toll increased to 161 after the Indonesian hajj pilgrim organizer's office, ran by Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry, in Jeddah in Jeddah received information on the addition of deaths among Indonesian Hajj pilgrims on Sunday.

    According to an official at the Indonesian Hajj organizer office, the deaths were related to heart disease, respiratory failure, liver failure, hypertension and heart attack with most of the deaths aged above 55 years old.

    The Indonesian government has imposed tight health screening over the pilgrims before they departed to Saudi Arabia due to the extreme weather in the Arabian peninsula country.

    It declared that all Indonesian Hajj pilgrims were fit to go to the holy land to carry out their religious duties.

    Indonesia departed more than 200,000 pilgrims to undertake the Hajj duties this year scheduled to end on Friday, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.