akarta, 4 Dec. (AKI/The Jakarta Post) - At least 25 more Indonesians have died during the 'Hajj' or Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina since Sunday, bringing to 161 the number of Indonesian pilgrims who have died during the annual event held in Saudi Arabia.

The deaths were related to heart disease and respiratory failure, the Religious Affairs Ministry's integrated Hajj communications system unit told the state Antara news agency in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Thursday.

The latest pilgrims died from various illnesses, including liver failure, hypertension, cardiac arrest and respiratory failure.

Most of the dead pilgrims were aged 55 or over.

The government required all Saudi Arabia-bound pilgrims pass a health screening, citing the extreme weather in the Middle Eastern country.

The Hajj pilgrimage - which concludes on Friday - is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is an obligation for all able-bodied Muslims to attend at least once during their lives, provided they can afford it.