Last batch of pilgrims flown out

Accra, Dec. 17, GNA - The last batch of 520 Hajj pilgrims left Accra at 1745 hours on Monday bringing the total to 2,516 under a special dispensation Saudi Arabian Authorities granted Ghanaians after Friday's closure of Jeddah Airport.

The pilgrims were flown out in six batches beginning on Saturday morning.

The first flight picked 295 pilgrims, while 337 pilgrims were on board the second.

Five hundred and twenty-nine Hajj pilgrims, forming the third batch, left Accra at 1450 hours on Sunday for Jeddah aboard a Boeing 747 aircraft that came from Saudi Arabia.

The fourth and fifth batches made up of 295 and 540 pilgrims, respectively, left on Sunday night with the sixth batch of 520 pilgrims leaving on Monday. The extension granted Ghanaians ends at midnight Monday.

It had earlier been expected that about 2,700 pilgrims would make the trip but it turned out that some did not have valid travel documents.

President John Agyekum Kufuor had to intervene to get the Saudi Arabians to receive the Ghanaian pilgrims after the Jeddah Airport was closed on Friday December 14, 2007.

Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President, said the Government successfully secured an extension for Ghanaian pilgrims to arrive in Saudi Arabia on December 17, 2007. The Government on Thursday announced it was stepping in to get stranded Ghanaian pilgrims airlifted to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, one of the most important pillars of Islam. Mr Awuni said President Kufuor had ordered an investigation to unravel the cause of the unfortunate situation that led to the pilgrims becoming stranded in Accra.

Poor organisation of the Hajj has become an annual ritual in the country.