Pilgrims to face cold weather in Holy Land

JAKARTA (JP): This year's haj pilgrims are facing relatively cold weather in Saudi Arabia, a situation which will increase the physical ordeal of the journey, according to Wan Alkadri, the head of the Ministry of Health's Haj Health Affairs.

Reports have said that the temperature in the holy city of Mecca, the port city of Jeddah and Medina, the second holiest city, is between 13 degrees and 29 degrees Celsius.

Alkadri said Monday that Indonesian pilgrims would face diseases similar to last year's illnesses, including infections of the respiratory and digestion tracts, but due to the unusually high humidity the risk of being affected was much higher.

"Coughs and colds will hit the pilgrims much more frequently and last longer than the usual three to four days. Usually they last less than three days," he said.

Last year, 571 haj pilgrimages died in the Holy Land. The main causes of the deaths were cardiovascular illnesses (44.56%), lung infections (32.8%), cerebrovascular problems (5.96%), heatstroke (3.56%) and liver trouble (2.46%).

Alkadri said the government had sent 47,900 kg of medicines to Saudi Arabia and 1,428 medical officers to assist pilgrims round the clock at all stations in Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs announced Sunday that a pilgrim from Magelang, Central Java, had died in Jeddah. Bariah binti Reso Taruno, 61, died of old age.

It also reported a bus accident involving Indonesian pilgrims from flight 17 from Halim Perdanakusuma. The accident occurred at 4:30 a.m Saudi time yesterday, 40 km from Medina.

Fourteen pilgrims were hospitalized at King Fahd Abdul Azis hospital in Medina. Eight have already been discharged. No deaths were reported.

As of yesterday afternoon, 28,176 pilgrims had left for the Holy Land from the six embarkation points. This year, Indonesia is sending 197,615 pilgrims on 474 flights. (12)