The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has confirmed that 64 Nigerians were among those who died on Thursday in a stampede at Jamrat, in Saudi Arabia. It said that 10 more corpses of deceased Nigerian pilgrims have been identified and were added to the previous 54 that whose death were ealier announced.
Giving newsmen update on the incident in Mecca, Alhaji Uba Mana,
The Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Alhaji Uma Mana who spoke to news men in Mecca today said that 71 pilgrims were injured while 244 pilgrims are still missing.
He said that of the 64 deceased pilgrims, 46 were airlifted to Saudi Arabia by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies and 18 by private tour operators, adding that 12 of the 71 injured pilgrims were airlifted to the Holy land by tour operators and 59 by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies.
Uba Mana said that the deceased were from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Ekiti, Jigawa, FCT, Cross River, Gombe, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, Taraba, and Zamfara States. [myad]