THREE MORE MALAYSIAN HAJJ PILGRIMS DIE IN HOLY LAND

MAKKAH, June 17 (Bernama) -- Three more Malaysian hajj pilgrims have died in the Holy Land, bringing the death toll to eight.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Mohd Na'aim Mokhtar said that the latest death, the eighth, involved a female pilgrim under the hajj pilgrimage operators (PJH) who passed away at 4.30 pm on Saturday while walking back to her accommodation.

“The late Sabina Jalil, 66, from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, performed hajj with a friend and died due to a heart attack,” he told the media after visiting the TH Treatment Centre in Mina last night.

The sixth and seventh pilgrims who died were Baharuddin Mohd Shood, 75, from Jengka, Pahang, and Abd Manaf Hanapiah, 65, from Alor Setar, Kedah. They died on June 11 and June 13, respectively.

Baharuddin died of intestinal cancer at the TH Makkah Treatment Centre, while Abd Manaf died of a heart attack while receiving treatment at the Makkah Medical Centre.

Meanwhile, Mohd Na'im said that the patients being treated at the Treatment Centre in Makkah are those involved in the Wukuf Safari programme on Saturday, who were brought to Arafah by TH staff using a modified bus.

Most of them suffer from heart problems, in addition to health issues related to breathing difficulties.

The TH Treatment Centre in Makkah provides a total of 187 patient beds, complete with medical equipment, as well as x-ray services, emergency wards, dentistry, and laboratories, in addition to 17 ambulances serving 12 accommodation buildings for Malaysian pilgrims here.

--BERNAMA