Govt steps in to airlift stranded pilgrims

Accra, Dec. 13, GNA - The Government on Thursday stepped in to get stranded Ghanaian pilgrims airlifted to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, one of the most important pillars of Islam.

It has signed a contract with a group of Germans to fly the pilgrims out on Friday morning. The chartered aircraft arrives on Thursday night at 2200 hours and would do three rotations, carrying 250 passengers on each rotation.

Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary to the President, told the Presidential Press Corps that priority would be given to the 449 people who could not make the Hajj last year. He said the Germans have given the assurance that they could get the Saudi Authorities to extend the deadline for the arrival of the Ghanaian pilgrims.

Should they succeed in doing this, the rotation contract with them would be extended.

In addition to the Germans, Mr Awuni said a deal had been struck with "Bin Sheikh Air-link" to also lift the pilgrims out. The Press Secretary said the Government was paying for the flight and that for now, the concern was to bring relief to the pilgrims and end the anxieties and uncertainties about the Hajj.

President John Agyekum Kufuor, he said, has 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.