The first group of 450 Malaysian haj pilgrims departed for home on flight KT1 at 7am from the Jeddah Airport near Makkah today.

   

Tabung Haji (TH) media manager Mohd Naser Jafar said the flight is expected to arrive at the KL International Airport at 8.50pm tonight.

He said the pilgrims who travelled to the holy land via Madinah last month will return home in stages from the Jeddah Airport.   

Those who went directly to Makkah would travel in groups to Madinah from Oct 28 onwards and stop over in the holy city for eight days before returning to Malaysia via the Madinah Airport.  

He said so far 13 pilgrims had passed away, with the latest being senior citizen Abang Alwi Abang Turkei, 60.  

Abang Alwi, who was from Kuching, Sarawak died of a heart attack at 1.15am yesterday at the King Abdullah Hospital.  He was performing the pilgrimage with his wife Sharifah Khatijah Wan Mustafa.

He was buried at the Syaraek cemetery in Makkah the same evening.

- Bernama