DAMMAM: The Pakistani woman physician who went missing from the tent city of Mina on Thursday was located on Monday evening at King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Makkah.

"I got a call from a woman who identified herself as Sister Shahzia at 4:15 p.m. Monday; she told me that my daughter Dr. Sara Arjumand is admitted in King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Makkah and that she was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state three days ago," said Sabiha Fatima, Dr. Arjumand's mother, by telephone from Baha.

"Sister Shahzia told me that she read about Dr. Arjumand in Monday's Arab News and got the family's contact details from the newspaper. I asked her to put me through to my daughter to which she said she is still unconscious. I have immediately sent our family friend in Makkah to rush to the hospital," said the relieved but worried mother. "Please pray for her complete recovery," she said.

Speaking to Arab News from Makkah, nurse Shahzia Burhan said all of her colleagues were worried about the identity of the patient ever since she was brought to our hospital three days ago. "The doctors who were attending her called me twice to find out if she were an Indian or Pakistani. I told our doctor she was a Pakistani from her distinct Pakistani clothes."

The nurse said she read the newspaper almost by chance. "We were going home in the hospital bus after finishing my 8 a.m.-4 p.m. shift when a Filipino colleague of mine drew my attention to the report in Arab News about the missing doctor. I immediately recognized her as our patient and called up her mother," she said. "I didn't know she was in Baha. I thought they were from Makkah. I am happy to have brought the good news to her mother," said the nurse, who comes from Islamabad in Pakistan. "Dr. Arjumand is still unconscious ... let us hope she gets well soon and find comfort in her mother's arms."

Dr. Arjumand, an unmarried 34-year-old gynecologist working at Al-Mikhwa General Hospital in Baha, had been in the Kingdom for only six months before she and several colleagues and their families left for Haj on Nov. 12. Early on Thursday, Nov. 18, the last day of Haj, she disappeared in the throng of pilgrims.

Family friend Bahjat Najmi, who spoke to doctors at the hospital in Makkah, said Dr. Arjumand was brought to their hospital on Friday evening. "She had a nervous breakdown and had become unconscious near Jamrat Complex in Mina on Thursday evening. She was first taken to Mina General Hospital and a day later was shifted to King Abdul Aziz Hospital. In the absence of any identification on her person she was listed as an unidentified patient," said Najmi.

He said doctors and the nursing staff at the hospital have taken good care of her. "From what I have gathered, she is recovering albeit slowly ... We want to thank the Saudi police and the government who extended all cooperation to us in trying to locate her. Our thanks also go to all the expatriates and particularly the alert Pakistani nurse who lost no time in contacting the doctor's mother immediately after reading the story in Arab News."