JUST IN: Lebanese pilgrim dies on flight back from hajj

BEIRUT: A Lebanese pilgrim died Wednesday morning on a Middle East Airlines flight from Saudi Arabia to Lebanon, following her hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Lebanese S.T.R., born in 1962, suffered a medical complication during the flight, according to the state-run National News Agency. Once the plane landed, the airport’s doctor Michel al-Khoury Hanna examined her and pronounced her dead.

A source at MEA could not confirm the cause of death, but said she died on the plane while it was flying over Syrian airspace. Since there was no doctor on board, S.T.R. was assisted by the plane’s crew, who administered oxygen to her. Though she briefly recovered, the source said she had died by the time the plane landed. Her body was transferred to the nearby Al-Rassoul al-Aazam Hospital, the NNA said. Earlier in August, two Lebanese died while in Saudi Arabia on trips to perform the haj The Daily Star

The Daily Star