ID :
36765
Sun, 12/21/2008 - 00:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/36765
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SOME 325 INDONESIAN HAJJ PILGRIMS DIE IN SAUDI ARABIA
Madinah, Dec. 20 (ANTARA) - Some 325 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia up to Saturday.
"The number is slightly lower than last year's 327 Hajj pilgrims who died in the same period," Dr Barita Sitompul, deputy chairperson of the Indonesian Hajj Pilgrimage Committee, said here on Saturday.
Sitompul worried over the Indonesian Hajj pilgrims' health condition because the temperature in Madinah was only eight degrees Celsius with a very low humidity.
Of the 325 Hajj pilgrim deaths, 225 occurred in Mecca, 36 in Madinah, and four in Jeddah. Meanwhile, around 150 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims received medical treatment due to illness.
About 95 percent of the dead pilgrims were above 60 years old, and 210 or roughly 65 percent had died of heart problems.
Having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia sends a large number of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca and Madinah, Islam's two sacred cities, every year.
A total of 208,928 Indonesians performed the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year, according to data from the religious affairs ministry.
The Hajj pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in the lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
"The number is slightly lower than last year's 327 Hajj pilgrims who died in the same period," Dr Barita Sitompul, deputy chairperson of the Indonesian Hajj Pilgrimage Committee, said here on Saturday.
Sitompul worried over the Indonesian Hajj pilgrims' health condition because the temperature in Madinah was only eight degrees Celsius with a very low humidity.
Of the 325 Hajj pilgrim deaths, 225 occurred in Mecca, 36 in Madinah, and four in Jeddah. Meanwhile, around 150 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims received medical treatment due to illness.
About 95 percent of the dead pilgrims were above 60 years old, and 210 or roughly 65 percent had died of heart problems.
Having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia sends a large number of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca and Madinah, Islam's two sacred cities, every year.
A total of 208,928 Indonesians performed the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year, according to data from the religious affairs ministry.
The Hajj pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in the lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
