55,693 Bangladeshi pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia

A total of 55,693 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims have so far reached Saudi Arabia through 143 Hajj flights.

Director of the Bangladesh Hajj Office Md Lokman Hossain said that 143 flights had landed in Jeddah by 10am today (14 May).

According to the Hajj bulletin, 14 pilgrims have died so far due to natural causes till yesterday (13 May).

Of them, 10 are male and four are female. Eleven died in Makkah and three in Medina.

It said that the Saudi medical team automatically provided treatment facilities to 27,116 pilgrims while the IT Helpdesk gave medical services to 16,002 till yesterday.

He said a total of 78,500 people from Bangladesh have been allowed to perform Hajj this year.

Of them, 660 agencies are handling Hajj operations under private management, including 30 lead agencies and 630 coordinating agencies.

According to airline-wise data, 27,780 pilgrims arrived on 70 flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 19,457 on 51 flights of Saudi Airlines, and 8,456 on 22 flights of Flynas Airlines.

The remaining 22,685 pilgrims are expected to arrive gradually through designated airlines, the director added.

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

The flight was inaugurated by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Of the total pilgrims, 4,565 will perform Hajj under government management, while 73,935 will go under private arrangements, according to Hajj office information.

The Saudi Embassy in Dhaka has issued a total of 73,378 visas so far, including 4,455 under government management and 73,923 under private management.

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

The return flight will depart from Jeddah on 30 May, while the last return Hajj flight will be on 30 June.