MECCA – Two Malaysian men died here last Friday, bringing the total to four pilgrims from the country to die in the holy land during the current haj pilgrimage this season.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Senator Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said the two pilgrims, both men, aged 72 and 60, died due to lung infection as well as stroke and heart failure.
“These two men are among three pilgrims who were not taken to Arafah for wuquf because they were in a coma in a Saudi Arabian hospital,” he told a press conference here.
According to him, there are 95 pilgrims at the Tabung Haji Mecca treatment centre and 15 Malaysian pilgrims in Saudi Arabian hospitals.
Meanwhile, Na’im said the Masyair operation, which is the culmination of the haj, has officially ended with the return of all the Malaysian pilgrims to Mecca from Mina.
He said 13,219 pilgrims, or 56%, left Mina on Friday after performing the early “nafar” (performing the Jamrah rites on two of the three days of Tasyrik), while the rest began moving back to Mecca at 6.23am yesterday after performing the “nafar thani”.
The Malaysian pilgrims will start leaving for their homeland starting this Wednesday, and the last flight is expected on July 31 with a total of 98 flights. – Bernama, July 2, 2023
