19 Indian Haj pilgrims dead in Saudi Arabia

Dubai, Oct 16: Nineteen Indians, who came to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj, have died in the country while undertaking the annual pilgrimage, officials said today.

Nineteen of the 61,847 Indian pilgrims who arrived from India to perform Haj in Saudi Arabia are reported to have died so far, authorities said.

Of the total number of pilgrims who have already flown in from India, 27,487 are in Makkah and 34,345 are in Madinah, according to Consulate General of India in Jeddah.

"So far 223 flights have come from India and 8,177 pilgrims have moved from Makkah to Madinah. As of today, 19 pilgrims have expired, out of which 15 came through Haj Committee of India and four through private tour operators," the consulate statement said.

A maximum number of 20,268 have come from Delhi while 10,128 have come from Lucknow.

Another 6,977 have flown out of Hyderabad while 8,400 have come from Kozhikode, the statement said.

PTI