Hajj Tragedy: Nigeria death toll now 64

The death toll of Nigerian pilgrims in Hajj stampede of Thursday in Saudi Arabia has continued to rise with the latest figure standing at 64.

This raised the figure by 10 from the 54 announced on Monday by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

NAHCON, which gave the latest figure on Tuesday, also said 244 pilgrims had been declared missing.

The Director, Public Affairs of the commission, Alhaji Uba Mana, added that 71 pilgrims were injured as against the 61 pilgrims earlier announced by the commission.

Read also: Hajj tragedy: Buhari demands accurate reports

Mana explained that of the 64 deceased pilgrims, 46 were transported to Saudi Arabia by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies and 18 by private tour operators.

The commission’s spokesman also stated that 12 of the 71 injured pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia by tour operator and 59 by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies.

He said the deceased were from Adamawa,Bauchi, Borno, Ekiti, Jigawa, FCT, Cross Rivers, Gombe, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers Sokoto, Yobe, Taraba, and Zamfara.

It would be recalled that following conflicting reports on the incident, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday ordered NAHCON to urgently give him an accurate report.

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