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)