Hajs suffer food poisoning

BANDUNG, West Java: As many as 194 hajs (people who had performed haj pilgrimage) from the West Java regency of Garut were reportedly poisoned after they consumed vegetable juice one hour after the airplane, which was transporting them from King Abdul Aziz airport in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, to Jakarta, had taken off.

Hendy Budiman, an official at Garut health office, said here on Thursday that they suffered from stomach ache and other symptoms, such as queasiness, vomiting, headaches, and diarrhea.

"The symptoms occurred for three hours, and all of the plane's passengers were in a panic until two hours before the plane landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta," he said. -- Antara