Woman dies on haj journey

Woman dies on haj journey

JAKARTA: A woman from Jakarta died yesterday of a heart attack on her flight to Mecca, where she was to perform the haj pilgrimage.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement yesterday that Ani binti Tileng died shortly before her plane touched down at the King Abdul Aziz airport in Jeddah.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Director General for Haj Affairs Ahmad Gozali reported that all available chartered planes will be able to carry the country's prospective pilgrims.

"Don't worry. We are sure all registered pilgrims will leave for Mecca because the government has done its best to improve its service this season," he said.

By 6 p.m. yesterday, 9,843 pilgrims had left for Saudi Arabia.

Separately, Antara reported yesterday that hundreds of pilgrims in South Kalimantan were outraged when their flight scheduled was changed at the last minute at the Sepinggan airport. (pan)