Two pilgrims lost their lives during this year’s pilgrimage.
They are both male and female the latter being the first to lose her life.
According to the Director of the Medical Department of the Ghana Hajj Board (GHB) Dr. Zakaria, the lady died when she was saying one of the five daily prayers.
She fell down during the prayers and by the time she was attended to by members of the medical team she had passed on.
The male pilgrim passed on at the King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Mecca where he was on admission for two weeks suffering from a high sugar level in his body, the director said.
Both pilgrims he added died even before the commencement of the Hajj rituals.
On the general assessment of the health management of Ghanaian pilgrims, he said it was good. He attributed to the success of the health management to the surveillance system put in place at the satellite medial units at the hotels where the pilgrims were accommodated.
He was happy to announce that there were no disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 or others.
Meanwhile, the first batch of Ghanaian pilgrims who were airlifted from the Tamale Airport arrived to the welcoming arms of their family members and well-wishers Wednesday afternoon.
With their arrival three more flights are expected of the four which made it to Madina in Saudi Arabia.
Pilgrims were given a bag at point of departure from Ghana to serve as hand luggage and two more as main bags upon arrival in Saudi Arabia close to the commencement of the return trip.
Those who defied the luggage carriage protocol had their bags rejected for the first flights and the same will apply to the subsequent flights.
Those who exceed the stipulated weights must make their own arrangements for the excess luggage.