AlHijjah 12, 1432, Nov 8, 2011, SPA - The Saudi Red Crescent Authority's air ambulance unit has performed more than 32 rescue and medical flights to several locations within the holy sites as of Monday. “Six flights belonging to the Saudi Red Crescent Authority have spread out between the Saudi Red Crescent airbase in Arafat, near the Jamarat towers in Mina, Arafat general hospital, and the Red Crescent station in Namirah,” said Capt. Abdulhakim Saadoun Al-Joufi, director of air operations at the authority. “On the day of (Standing in ) Arafat, 18 flights carried out tasks ranging from emergency and monitoring missions. The emergency cases were transferred to Al-Noor hospital, Hira Hospital, and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Medical City in Makkah,” said Capt. Al-Joufi. Arab News learned that the majority of emergency calls came from Sa'aamd village south of Al-Jhoom, Dhahban Bridge near Madinah Road, and Ashira Bridge near Jeddah-Madinah road. Al-Joufi pointed out that the number of emergency cases during this year's Haj season is less than last year due to the increase of health awareness, further improvement of overall organization during the pilgrimage season, and improved means for grouping pilgrims.
