Al-Saggaf said that another group of 2,000 students would be rescued from Egypt and flown to Jeddah in a staggered schedule on Saturday and Sunday. So far 4,914 students have been brought from Cairo to Jeddah on their way back home. Nine thousand of the estimated 11,700 Malaysian students will pass through Jeddah before the operation is complete.
“The rare gesture of support and solidarity shown by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has made this impossible evacuation operation possible,” said Al-Saggaf.
Asked about the shelter provided by the Malaysian diplomatic mission, the ambassador said that an operations room had been set up at the pilgrims’ city in Jeddah that could accommodate 3,000 people. He said that the relatives and friends of the students could contact the operation room at 009-662-672-6191 for more information. The students, if their number grows, would also be accommodated at the Tabung Haji Hostel.
One of the reasons behind Kuala Lumpur's decision to bring students to Jeddah first and then send them home was so that the flight could return quickly to Cairo to pick up the next batch of students. Eight planes are being used in this operation. More than 11,700 students registered with the Malaysian Embassy in Egypt were in the process of being evacuated, he added.
