According to a diplomat in Saudi Arabia, at least 68 Indian nationals have been confirmed dead during this year’s Haj pilgrimage. Many Indians are also reported missing. This incident has happened amid record high temperatures in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and the death of 550 pilgrims this year.

“We have confirmed the deaths of about 68 people… some died of natural causes and we had many elderly pilgrims with us. And some died due to the weather, we estimate,” the diplomat told news agency AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The diplomat also said that several Indian nationals were also reported missing, but declined to give their exact number.

“This is an annual phenomenon,” he said, adding that the situation was the same as in previous years and that more details were expected soon.

The Hajj pilgrimage, a central part of Islam, brings millions of people to Mecca, Saudi Arabia each year during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Every Muslim is required to fulfill this religious obligation at least once in their lifetime.

This year’s pilgrimage also witnessed intense heat and soaring temperatures, the highest in recent decades.

A Saudi Arabian study also showed that temperatures in the pilgrimage area increased by 0.4 degrees Celsius every decade. In 2023, more than 200 pilgrims died during the Hajj, and more than 2,000 suffered from heat-related stress as temperatures reached 48 degrees Celsius.

On June 18, other Arab diplomats reported that 550 people could die in the 2024 Hajj323 Egyptians and 60 Jordanians are stranded due to the intense heat.

Other civilians from Iran, Indonesia, Tunisia, Senegal and the Kurdistan region of Iraq have also been reported dead. Officials in these countries have not commented on the deaths.