Thai pilgrim killed in crane tragedy, two missing
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A THAI pilgrim was confirmed to have been killed while two others remain missing after a construction crane collapsed amid stormy weather at the Grand Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Friday, Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said yesterday.
The tragedy, which took place days ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage, claimed 108 lives and wounded more than 230 others.
A third statement by the Office of Haj Affairs of Thailand, issued at 1am yesterday, said it and the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Jeddah had been |trying to locate three Thais |at hospitals in Mecca who |had been missing since the tragedy.
They later found the body of Thai Wanida Sadi, 48, from Bangkok at the Al-Muaisim morgue, so they will contact her relatives and the Saudi Arabian authorities to proceed on burial and the issuing of a death certificate.
Vira, citing an update from the head of the Religious Affairs Department Kritsayapong |Siri, said Thai officials and their Saudi Arabian counterparts |were looking for two missing Thais.
On Saturday, the ministry reported that two Thais were among the injured: Maeyoh Taemo, 47, a woman from Pattani; and Sama-ae Shazu, 48, a man from Yala, both of whom were later handed over to a medical team at the Royal Thai Embassy.
The Religious Affairs Department has set up two numbers – 094-9520668 and 094-9158257 – for relatives to inquire about Thai pilgrims in Mecca.
