51581 Bangladeshi Pilgrims arrive Saudi Arabia for Hajj

Special Correspondent: A total of 51,581 Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia on 132 Hajj flights.Director of the Bangladesh Hajj Office Md Lokman Hossain said 132 flights had landed in Jeddah as of 10am on Sunday.According to the Hajj bulletin, 12 pilgrims had died of natural causes as of Saturday.Of them, 10 were men, and two were women. The bulletin said 10 pilgrims died in Makkah and two in Medina.It also said the Saudi medical team had automatically provided treatment to 22,998 pilgrims, while the IT Helpdesk provided medical services to 14,869 pilgrims as of Saturday.He said a total of 78,500 people from Bangladesh have been permitted 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, 24,637 pilgrims arrived on 62 flights operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 18,488 on 48 flights operated by Saudia, and 8,456 on 22 flights operated by Flynas.The remaining 26,792 pilgrims are expected to arrive gradually on designated airlines, the director added.The first Hajj flight (BG3001), carrying 418 pilgrims, departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on April 17 at 11:57pm for King Abdulaziz International Airport. The flight was inaugurated by Tarique Rahman.Of the total pilgrims, 4,565 will perform Hajj under government management, while 73,935 will travel under private arrangements, according to Hajj office data.The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Dhaka has so far issued 78,373 visas, including 4,454 under government management and 73,919 under private management.Subject to moon sighting, the holy Hajj is expected to be held in Saudi Arabia on May 26.The return Hajj flights will begin departing from Jeddah on May 30, while the final return flight is scheduled for June 30.