A large group of over 750 Russian pilgrims on their way home from a hajj in Mecca in Saudi Arabia had to stop in the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon over the suspension of ferry service due to poor weather conditions.
Diplomat Alexander Tolstopyatenko said that the ferry has arrived from Sochi, a Russian resort city on the Black Sea, and it is currently being decided when it would leave back to Russia.
"Anyway the ferry will leave no earlier than 8.00 p.m. Moscow time [5 p.m. GMT]," Tolstopyanenko said.
On Wednesday, Tolstopyanenko said, 741 Russian tourists and over 30 vehicles had already been transported home.
The diplomat also confirmed earlier media reports that one of the hajj pilgrims had died and added that a coffin with his body would be delivered home as soon as possible.
The Ekho Moskvy radio earlier quoted pilgrims as saying that a Chechen resident died of a heart attack in Trabzon on December 30. Two people have been hospitalized and several dozens have caught a cold, the radio said.
