47 Bangladeshis die during Hajj

A total of 101,829 Bangladeshis performed Hajj this year. Of them, 5,183 went to Saudi Arabia under government management. Of the total 1,862,909 pilgrims, as many as 1,325,372 are foreigners and 537,537 domestic pilgrims. This is the least number of pilgrims in the last 10 years. In 2012, more than three million pilgrims performed Hajj, the highest in the last 10 years. The first Hajj flight left Bangladesh on August 4 and the first return flight carrying 419 Bangladeshis is set to reach Dhaka today. Mannan, 58, died of high blood pressure and cardiac arrest at King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Mecca on Thursday, said Maksudur Rahman, counsellor (Hajj) of the Bangladesh consulate in Jeddah. According to the medical reports, most of the pilgrims died because of old age complications, and heart and kidney failures, Maksud told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone yesterday. Of the dead Bangladeshis, 36 are male and 11 females, a Hajj bulletin of the Religious Affairs Ministry said. Thirty-three of them died in Mecca, 8 in Medina, five in Mina and one in Jeddah between August 5 and September 15. Religious Affairs Minister Motior Rahman is accompanying the Hajj management team in Saudi Arabia. 419 pilgrims to return today The first return Hajj flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying 419 pilgrims is set to reach Dhaka airport at 8:40pm, Tasmin Aktar, assistant manager (public relations) of the national flight carrier, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. According to Biman’s schedule, the flight will leave Jeddah at 11am local time (2pm Bangladesh time). The return Hajj flight will continue till October 16. Biman Chairman Enamul Bari told the Dhaka Tribune that they had transported an estimated 49,545 pilgrims on 144 flights without leasing any aircraft during the pre-Hajj operations. To ease the hassle of pilgrims, Biman has arranged city check-ins where they would be able to keep their luggage in the airline’s custody 24 hours prior to take-off. Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon has already requested the Hajj pilgrims not to carry any Zamzam water (holy water) with them. He also requested the pilgrims not to bring luggages exceeding 46kg. The airline will distribute Zamzam water among the pilgrims after their arrival in Dhaka.