A total of 508 intending pilgrims have been airlifted by the Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board to Saudi Arabia for this year's  lesser  Hajj.

The Board's  Chairman, Alhaji Usman  Olosun,  told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that  the pilgrims took off from the IIorin International Airport at  about 8.30 p.m.  on Saturday.

According to him, the 508 pilgrims constitute  the only batch from Kwara comprising sponsored pilgrims by the state government as well as  local  councils in the state.

"There will not be any other batch from Kwara for this year's  lesser Hajj;  all pilgrims from the state including officials have been airlifted," Olosun said.

On why the number of pilgrims was less than previous years; the chairman attributed  the development  to non  issuance of enough visas by the Saudi authorities.

He also said reports from Saudi Arabia indicated  that all the 508 pilgrims had arrived  Medina safely.

Olosun further said that the pilgrims would move to Makkah in the next few days for the completion of  the Ummrah rites.