29,000 Hajj pilgrims return home to Bangladesh, 46 die during pilgrimage

A total of 29,694 Hajj pilgrims have returned to Bangladesh after their journey to Saudi Arabia. So far, 46 Bangladeshis have died during the pilgrimage this year.

According to the latest bulletin from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, 71 return flights had arrived in Bangladesh as of 2am on Thursday. Of the passengers, 3,328 Hajj pilgrims travelled on government packages, while 26,366 others travelled on private packages.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has operated 24 of the return flights so far, carrying 9,981 Hajj pilgrims. Another 11,331 made the trip on 28 flights operated by Saudia Airlines, while 7,700 travelled on 19 flights operated by Flynas Airlines, and 682 returned home on flights operated by other airlines.

This year, the Hajj was held on May 26. The return flights started on May 30 after the conclusion of the pilgrimage and will continue until Jun 30.

The Bangladeshi pilgrims who have died in Saudi Arabia so far include 30 men and 16 women. Of them, 35 died in Makkah and 11 in Madinah. There have been no reports about the death of any Bangladeshi pilgrim in Mina, Arafa, Muzdalifah, or Jeddah.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs says that 56,312 automatic medical prescriptions have been issued so far from medical centres in Saudi Arabia. In addition, 262 pilgrims have received treatment in local hospitals. Currently, 24 pilgrims are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.

Of them, six are admitted to Abeer Group (Saudi National Hospital, Aziziyah), four to An-Noor Hospital, three to Makkah Medical Centre, three to Care Medical, two to King Faisal Hospital, two to Hera General Hospital, two to Saudi German Hospital, one to King Abdul Aziz Hospital (Zaher) and one to King Abdullah Medical City Hospital.

This year, 4,565 pilgrims undertook the journey under a government travel plan and 73,935 under the private travel packages under the 30 lead Hajj agencies approved by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The first Hajj flight to Saudi Arabia left Dhaka on Apr 18 and the last departed on May 21.