Another Bangladeshi pilgrim dies on Hajj trip, raising toll to 12

A Bangladeshi pilgrim has died during his trip to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, pushing the toll to 12 in the last 29 days.

Khoibor Hossain, a 55-year-old native of Rangpur, passed away in Makkah on Sunday, according to the religious affairs ministry.

As many as 56,952 Bangladeshis have reached Saudi Arabia to take part in the holy ritual after a two-year disruption due to the pandemic.

So far, 3,890 pilgrims have travelled to the Gulf kingdom under government management and 53,062 under private management.

Over 65 percent of the pilgrims fall in the 41-60 age group.

Homemakers account for the highest number of pilgrims at 29.60 percent, with retired professionals, consisting of 4.96 percent, falling on the opposite end of the spectrum.

As of now, 65 percent of the pilgrims are men and 35 percent women.

At least 37 percent of pilgrims are from the Dhaka division. Only two percent went from the Sylhet division, the lowest.

The Saudi authorities are allowing up to 60,000 Bangladeshis to make the pilgrimage this year.

Bangladesh has capped the number of travellers under government management at 4,115 pilgrims, while the quota under private management is 55,885.

With the Hajj scheduled to begin on Jul 8, Bangladesh has been operating flights to Saudi Arabia since Jun 5.

The last Hajj flight will take off on Jul 5, while the return flights will start on Jul 14 and continue until Aug 4.