59,055 Bangladeshi pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia for Hajj

A total of 59,055 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims have so far reached Saudi Arabia on 152 Hajj flights.

Director of the Bangladesh Hajj Office Md Lokman Hossain said the flights landed in Jeddah and Madinah till 10am today (16 May).

According to the Hajj bulletin, 15 Bangladeshi pilgrims have died of natural causes so far till yesterday. Of them, 11 were male and four female.

Among the deceased pilgrims, 11 died in Makkah and four in Madinah.

The bulletin said Saudi medical teams provided treatment to 30,126 pilgrims automatically, while the IT helpdesk rendered medical-related services to 17,110 pilgrims till yesterday.

Lokman Hossain said a total of 78,500 Bangladeshis are scheduled to perform Hajj this year.

Of them, 4,565 pilgrims will perform Hajj under government management, while 73,935 will go under private management.

A total of 660 agencies are handling Hajj operations under private management, including 30 lead agencies and 630 coordinating agencies, he added.

According to airline-wise statistics, 30,078 pilgrims travelled on 76 flights operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 20,521 pilgrims on 54 Saudi Airlines flights and 8,456 pilgrims on 22 Flynas flights.

The remaining 19,323 pilgrims are expected to reach Saudi Arabia gradually on scheduled flights.

The first Hajj flight (BG3001), carrying 418 pilgrims, departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on 17 April at 11:57pm.

The flight was formally inaugurated by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.

According to the Hajj office, the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka has so far issued 78,378 visas, including 4,455 under government management and 73,923 under private management.

Subject to moon sighting, the holy Hajj is expected to be held on 26 May in Saudi Arabia.

The return Hajj flights are scheduled to begin on 30 May, while the last return flight is expected to depart on 30 June.