JEDDAH, 10 February 2003 — A record 1,431,012 foreign pilgrims are performing Haj this year, according to an official statement issued here yesterday.
“Among the pilgrims who came from abroad, 786,943 (55 percent) were male and 644,069 female,” Prince Mohammed ibn Naif, assistant interior minister said.
The figure showed a six percent increase in the number of foreign pilgrims this year compared to last year, when 1,350,451 arrived for the annual event.
This year, over 1.26 million pilgrims came by plane.
A number of Arab leaders, including Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Tunisian President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, are also performing Haj
The 74-year-old Kuwaiti emir is in good health after undergoing eye surgery in March last year to remove a cataract. He resumed his duties almost immediately after but underwent another eye surgery in August.
The pilgrims will spend the night under 44,000 tents in the Mina valley before moving this morning to Mount Arafat to mark the climax of Haj.
Meanwhile, Makkah Governor and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee Prince Abdul Majeed said the massive trek of over two million pilgrims to Mina on the first day of the Haj had been well organized.
He told reporters in Mina that the pilgrim traffic moved in an orderly manner, as planned. He said no major traffic accidents or security incidents have so far been reported.
Saudi authorities have mobilized more than 60,000 employees and volunteers including firemen, medical staff and cleaners for the huge Haj operation.
Lt. Gen. Saad Al-Tuwaijeri, director general of the Civil Defense Department, said 5,000 firemen, 2,350 vehicles and nine helicopters have been deployed for any emergency.
The Health Ministry has readied some 21 hospitals and 300 medical centers, with a capacity of 7,000 beds, in Makkah, Madinah and other holy sites. It has also deployed an additional 9,500 medical staff on Haj duty.
The massive traffic of pilgrims is being monitored by a hi-tech security operation room to which some 2,000 cameras are linked.
The government has licensed 6,187 buildings with 235,516 rooms to accommodate 1.428 million pilgrims. It has also arranged 17,000 buses to transport foreign pilgrims.
Six huge water tanks have been built in Mina and Arafat with a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters. Some 13,000 cleaners with vehicles have also been deployed.
The Health Ministry, meanwhile, confirmed that no contagious diseases have been reported among the pilgrims until yesterday.
Dr. Redha ibn Mohammed Khaleel, head of the preparatory health committee, said there was considerable fall in the number of sunstroke patients.
