Australian dies during Hajj pilgrimage in the Middle East

Annual Hajj pilgrimage is attended by more than a million Muslims Those attending journey to Mecca in Saudi ArabiaREAD MORE: Bodies loaded onto trucks amid Hajj pilgrimage heatwave  

An Australian is among the hundreds of people who have died during a Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia when temperatures soared to 50C.

Each year hundreds of people perish while undertaking the pilgrimage in scorching weather, with some counts placing mortality rates as high as 900.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed the death in a statement to the ABC, and said the agency was providing consular assistance to the person.

'We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,' the statement said.

Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun. Picture: Fadel Senna/ AFP

Speaking to ABC's RN Breakfast, a Muslim Chaplain at Curtin University and the University of Western Australia Yayha Ibrahim said it's believed the pilgrim was an 'elderly' man who lived in Sydney.

'It is somebody who was elderly who sadly found his last moments seeking God,' he said.

'The environment is what it is and it is unfortunate that there was a heatwave in the peak of the Hajj.'

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and is performed from the 8th through the 12th of Dhu al-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic year. This year it occurs between June 14, and June 19.

Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the symbolic 'stoning of the devil' ritual during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina. Picture: Fadel Senna/ AFP

The event was expected to draw about about 1.8million Muslims from around the world this year.

The journey features multiple rituals like spending a day in prayer on Mount Arafat, and a Stoning of the Devil ceremony where pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls in the city of Mina.

While international news sources have compiled data on the deaths of pilgrims undertaking the Hajj, Saudi Arabian authorities have yet to comment on the fatalities.

Drawing data from about 10 countries including Egypt, Jordan, and Indonesia, AFP reported 1081 deaths during the pilgrimage, including those who were registered and unregistered.

Registered pilgrims are able to use air-conditioned areas but some have still died amid the extreme conditions.