B Mirror Report: So far this year, 128 aircraft have brought 50,111 pilgrims from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj; Biman Bangladesh Airlines has carried the greatest number of passengers. According to BSS, Md. Lokman Hossain, Director of the Bangladesh Hajj Office, stated on Saturday morning that all 128 flights had touched down in Jeddah by 10:00 a.m.

The Hajj bulletin reported that 12 pilgrims have died from natural causes to date 10 men and two women. Of them, 10 passed away in Makkah and two in Madinah.

It also noted that Saudi medical teams have provided treatment to 18,987 pilgrims so far, while 13,011 received services through IT-based health support systems.

Lokman Hossain added that this year a total of 78,500 Bangladeshis have been approved to perform Hajj. Among them, 4,565 are traveling under government management and 73,935 through private arrangements. A total of 660 agencies, including 30 lead agencies and 630 coordinating agencies, are handling private Hajj operations.

Airline data shows 23,563 pilgrims traveled on 59 Biman flights, 18,092 on 47 Saudia flights, and 8,456 on 22 Flynas flights. The remaining 28,262 pilgrims are expected to reach Saudi Arabia in phases through scheduled carriers.

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 inaugural flight was flagged off by Tarique Rahman.

The Saudi Embassy in Dhaka has issued 78,373 Hajj visas so far 4,454 under government management and 73,919 under private arrangements.

Depending on moon sighting, Hajj is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia on May 26. Return flights are scheduled to begin on May 30 from Jeddah, with the final return flight expected on June 30.