NILAI: The body of another Malaysian haj pilgrim who was reported missing after a crane collapsed at Mecca's Grand Mosque has been identified.
The remains of Zainun Taha, 69, from Ampang, Selangor was identified by her next-of-kin, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said at a press conference at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Monday morning.
Five Malaysian pilgrims have so far been confirmed dead. Another two remain missing, while one person was found safely.
"The final rites of the Malaysian victims will be carried out in Mecca and the victims will be buried in the Ma'la cemetery there. One of the honours of Muslims who pass away in Mecca is that their final rites will be carried out in the Grand Mosque and their final prayers carried out by all the hajj pilgrims. That is their benefit (ganjaran)," he said.
Jamil Khir will be flying off to Saudi Arabia with Tabung Haji Chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim on Monday to oversee the Malaysian end of the disaster management and to provide support for the victims and their families.
10 Malaysian victims were injured.
Zainun Taha, 69, from Ampang was identified by her next-of-kin.
On Saturday, Rusiah Suar, 56, from Sungkai, Perak, was identified by Tabung Haji officials from photographs of 108 victims released by Saudi authorities.
The remains of Siti Nuroshlizan Zolkifli, 37, from Tanah Merah, Kelantan, Rohana Ismail, 54 from Kuala Krai Kelantan and Munah Jusoh, 73 from Cherang Ruku, Kelantan were identified on Sunday.
Abdul Muluk Ishak, 71, from Pantai Remis, Perak, was found unharmed on Sunday. He was known to be “forgetful” (nyamuk) and was returned safely by a group of Thai pilgrims whose delegation he had mistakenly joined.
Tabung Haji personnel are in the midst of locating and identifying another two Malaysian pilgrims reported missing.
The other two missing are Abdul Habib Lahman, 68, from Sik, Kedah and Shahidan Saad, 53, from Kodiang, Kedah.
238 people were reported to be injured in the crash, which was triggered by a heavy sandstorm.
A massive renovation project is currently underway to expand the grand mosque, allowing it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.
The accident occurred less than two weeks before the annual hajj pilgrimage on Sept 21, where hundreds of thousand of Muslims will gather at Saudi Arabia's two holy cities, Mecca and Medina as part of a tenent of Islam.
At present there are a total of 22,320 Malaysian pilgrims. The total number of pilgrims there is currently at about 2 million.
Families of pilgrims can contact the TH hotline at to get updates on current developments.
