Hajj stampede: 54 Nigerians confirmed dead

Fifty-four Nigerians have been confirmed to have died during Thursday’s stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia NAN reports. The confirmation was given by Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar, Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Monday at a news conference in Makkah.

Saudi emergency personnel stand near bodies of Hajj pilgrims at the site where at least 717 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, at the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia on September 24, 2015. The stampede, the second deadly accident to strike the pilgrims this year, broke out during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual, the Saudi civil defence service said. AFP PHOTO / STR

No fewer than 717 pilgrims died and 805 others injured in the stampede when the pilgrims trooped to perform the ritual of the symbolic stoning of the devil. Mukhtar said 61 other Nigerian pilgrims were injured during the incident. He said 42 of the deceased pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia by state Pilgrims’ Welfare Agencies, while 12 came through Private Tour Operators


He said the deceased were from Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Cross Rivers, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto, Yobe, Taraba, and Zamfara. The chairman also said that out of the injured 61 pilgrims, 16 were transported by Private Tour Operators and the remaining 45 by state Pilgrims’ Welfare Agencies.

He said the commission was still investigating to ascertain the number and condition of some pilgrims who have gone missing after the incident. MuKhtar said the commission had set up three committees to condole with the families of the deceased, arrange befitting burial for the deceased and to collate information from eye witnesses.

Source: Vanguard