KUALA LUMPUR: Saudi Arabia has compensated the families of Malaysian pilgrims who were killed or injured while performing Hajj in 2015 when a crane crashed into the Grand Mosque in Makkah, killing a total of 111 pilgrims of various nationalities and injuring hundreds of others.
Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Malaysia Mahmoud Hussein Saeed Qattan delivered the compensation payments to the Putrajaya Islamic Complex on Tuesday. Each family of the seven Malaysians who lost their lives in the accident received SR1 million ($267,000), while each of the three pilgrims injured was compensated with SR500,000 ($133,000). The compensation was paid personally by King Salman.
Malaysian Religious Affairs Minister Mujahid Rawa and representatives from Tabung Haji — the Malaysian Hajj pilgrims fund board were present at Putrajaya when Qattan delivered the payments. Rawa expressed his gratitude to King Salman for “the empathy and attention given to Malaysian pilgrims,” adding, “we are thankful for his kindness and generosity.”
The families also received an additional $5,000 from Tabung Haji and $5,000 from a takaful protection scheme.
