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Off-loaded SL pilgrim set to leave Riyadh
Oct 15, 201403:47 PM
The Haj pilgrim who was off-loaded in Riyadh from a flight bound to Colombo from Jeddah on Friday will be discharged from the hospital within the next few days, a senior official from the Sri Lankan Embassy here told Arab News on Tuesday.
The Sri Lankan Airlines flight, which was transporting Haj pilgrims back home, was forced to make an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after a Haj pilgrim complained of severe chest pain.
The diplomat said that Thajudeen Packeer, 65, began suffering from severe breathing difficulties after the flight took off from Jeddah.
The patient and the leader of his Haj group, Ameen Travels, were offloaded at Riyadh’s airport and the patient was admitted to Kingdom Hospital in Riyadh.
A total of 2,300 pilgrims went for Haj from Colombo on a reduced quota given by the Saudi government this year. Last year, some 3,500 pilgrims had performed Haj. The quota was reduced due to the ongoing construction works at Makkah.
Adam Bawa Uthuma Lebbe, Sri Lanka’s consul-general in Jeddah, said there was only one death among this year’s pilgrims from Colombo.
The death was due to natural causes and the deceased was buried in Madinah before Eid, he said. - Arab News
