Hajj death toll among Bangladeshis rises to 41

Two more Bangladeshi pilgrims have died while performing the holy Hajj in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of Bangladeshi deaths during this year’s pilgrimage to 41.

According to the Hajj Management Portal of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the two pilgrims died on Sunday (31 May).

The deceased were identified as Md Abdul Majid and Md Shahjahan Ali.

Abdul Majid hailed from Naogaon and died in Madinah, while Shahjahan Ali, a resident of Khilgaon in Dhaka, died in Makkah.

According to the latest data, of the 41 Bangladeshi pilgrims who have died in Saudi Arabia this year, 27 were men and 14 were women. Among them, 30 died in Makkah and 11 in Madinah.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi pilgrims have begun returning home after completing the Hajj. As of Sunday, a total of 11,613 pilgrims had returned to Bangladesh from Saudi Arabia.

This year’s Hajj was performed on 26 May. The first Hajj flight departed on 18 April, while outbound flights concluded on 21 May. Return flights began on 30 May and will continue until 30 June.

Approximately 78,500 Bangladeshis travelled to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year. Of them, 4,565 performed Hajj under the government management scheme, while 73,935 travelled through private agencies.

According to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, more than 1.6 million Muslims from around the world participated in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.