Ninety-eight Indians have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Haj to Mecca, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said total deaths of Indians in the entire Haj period last year were 187.

"This year, 1,75000 Indian pilgrims visited Mecca for Haj. The Haj period is from May 9 to July 22. This year, till now, 98 deaths have been reported," he said.

"The deaths have been due to natural causes, chronic illnesses, and old age. Six people died on the day of Arafat and four were accident-related deaths," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

The MEA spokesperson was responding to a question on the deaths of Indians during Haj.

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