Six Nigerian pilgrims have been confirmed to be among 107 who died when a crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia at the weekend.
Spokesman for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Uba Mana said yesterday that so far, “we have lost six pilgrims — two males and four females while we have three injuries.”
Uba Mana said that the death toll could rise further, saying: “we can’t say this is the final death toll because the situation is still unfolding. We are still visiting the hospitals and mortuaries in search of more casualties from Nigeria.”
He said that over 61,0000 Nigerians have so far been airlifted to the Holy land for the Hajj out of 76,000 expected for this year’s pilgrimage.
“The rest will be airlifted in the coming days,” he said. [myad]
