Two would-be haj pilgrims die

SURABAYA: Two elderly people who were scheduled to go on the haj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, passed away before they were able to make the pilgrimage.

Muntiah, 90, died on Tuesday, a day after her scheduled departure, while Hasan Qomar, 69, died of heart failure on his scheduled date of his departure last week, the deputy secretary of the Haj Embarkation Committee in Surabaya, Djoko Surono, said on Thursday.

Djoko said since the first batch of pilgrims left the country last Friday, 23 people have had to cancel or put off the trip. Two of them died, while the others were ill.

A total of 205,000 Indonesians are scheduled to take part in the haj this year, with about 52,000 of them departing from Surabaya. (sim)