Indonesian Hajj deaths rise to 32 as 154,410 pilgrims arrives Saudi Arabia  

The Ministry of Religious Affairs announced that 32 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims had passed away in Saudi Arabia as of Sunday (June 2).

The mortality rate has significantly increased compared to that of May 24, which stood at 11 fatalities.

The deceased pilgrims would get Badal Hajj, said Widi Dwinanda, an officer at the ministry’s Hajj Media Center, at an online press conference followed by ANTARA from Jakarta on Sunday.

Badal Hajj is the practice of fulfilling the fifth pillar of Islam performed by another person on behalf of a deceased pilgrim.

Dwinanda further reported that at least 154,410 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia. They belonged to 393 flight groupings.

On Sunday, 7,485 Hajj pilgrims belonging to 19 flight groupings were scheduled to leave Indonesia for Saudi Arabia, she added.

For this year’s Hajj season, Indonesia secured a pilgrim quota of 241,000 through an agreement reached with the Saudi government on January 8.

The total figure comprises 221,000 people making the pilgrimage under the initial quota and 20,000 pilgrims under the additional quota approved by the King of Saudi Arabia.

The additional quota was secured by President Joko Widodo during a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud in October 2023.