Plane Carrying Hajj Pilgrims Skids off Runway in Southeastern Iran, 10 Injured

Rasa - A Mahan Air passenger plane carrying Iranian Hajj pilgrims to Medina, Saudi Arabia, skidded off the runway at Kerman International Airport in Southeastern Iran on Monday after one of its tires burst.

News ID: 439

Date: 23 September 2013 - 20:53

Rasa News Agency Reports - Mahan Air’s Boeing 747 had 415 passengers aboard when the incident happened, reports say.

FNA reports said 10 passengers have been hospitalized in Kerman’s Shahid Bahonar Hospital for various types of injuries, while the remaining 405 passengers have been transferred to the airport’s transit hall.

Airport officials announced that none of the passengers sustained serious injuries in the incident.

Hajj pilgrimage is one of the 10 secondary pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by those who can afford the journey to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.

Every year tens of thousands of Iranians embark on Hajj pilgrimage, where they join millions of other Muslims.