Kyrgyz Pilgrims To Be Buried In Saudi Arabia
January 14, 2007
Muslim pilgrims outside the Al-Haram Sharif Mosque in Mecca (file photo) (epa)
BISHKEK, January 14, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Authorities in Kyrgyzstan say all 22 Kyrgyz pilgrims who died in a bus collision on January 12 while returning home from the Hajj in Mecca will be buried in Saudi Arabia.
The head of the state agency for religious affairs, Jolbors Jorobekov, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that the relatives of the traffic accident victims agreed they should be buried there. Some 17 other Kyrgyz were injured, and two of them are in serious condition.
Jarobekov told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that the injured Kyrgyz will be transported home on January 15.