EDDAH, 3 February 2003 — Three Iraqi pilgrims died and 16 others injured when their bus was involved in an accident near Qaiba in the Tabuk region, Al-Jazirah reported yesterday. The Arabic daily said the accident occurred in the late hours of Thursday. The injured were taken to King Khaled Hospital and King Fahd Hospital in Tabuk. The paper said one injured pilgrim is in the intensive care unit. The condition of other pilgrims is satisfactory. (AN)
Bosnians arrive
JEDDAH, 3 February 2003 — The first group of 55 Bosnian and Hungarian pilgrims, sponsored by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, has arrived in Jeddah, Okaz reported. (AN)
70,000 visas issued
CAIRO, 3 February 2003 — Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ibrahim Al-Barahim said that more than 70,000 Haj visas were issued this year. The pilgrims will start leaving Egypt for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The first group comprises 1,750 pilgrims. (SPA)
Slaughterhouses ready
MAKKAH, 3 February 2003 — The general management of slaughterhouses in Makkah have called on kitchen and restaurant owners to have cattle slaughtered in the legal slaughterhouses in order to ensure that the meat is safe for consumption and that the slaughter takes place under the supervision of a veterinarian. All five slaughter houses in Makkah are ready for the Haj season. (AN)
Dagestanis arriving
MACHACHALA, 3 February 2003 — Dagestani Muslims are continuing their travel to the holy sites in Makkah to perform Haj. According to sources at the religious affairs directorate in Dagestan, authorities have set up an air bridge between the Dagestani capital Machachala and Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport to carry the last groups of Dagestani pilgrims and other ethnic Caucasians. The sources said that the number of Dagestani pilgrims so far has reached 2,200. (SPA)
8,000 Thai pilgrims
JEDDAH, 3 February 2003 — Eight thousand Thai pilgrims will perform Haj this year. "That is 1,500 more than last year due to the country's economic recovery," Thai Consul General Suvat Chirapant told Arab News at a reception for his country's Haj goodwill delegation last night.
Five thousand of the incoming pilgrims are from southern Thailand alone, according to Suvat. Thai Deputy Minister for Communications Pichet Satirachaval arrived in the Kingdom on Friday to oversee the arrangements for his country's pilgrims.
Pilgrims arrived on 13 Haj flights operated by Thai International and other airlines accompanied by a 17-member medical team, including five doctors.
The delegation is led by Damrong Sumalyasak, secretary of a leading Muslim organization, and includes K. Somtrakul, deputy director of the department of religious affairs, Najmuddin Umail, member of parliament, and Imran Nalulim, a senator. Dr. Yusuf Zulkifle heads the medical team. The mission leader said the country had eight to nine million Muslims in a total population of 62 million. The country has 3,000 mosques. —K.S. Ramkumar
Mass transportation
JEDDAH, 3 February 2003 — Over 13,000 buses transported as many as 742,000 pilgrims from King Abdul Aziz Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port in the last 40 days. Thirteen companies are involved in the mass transportation. (AN)
