The death toll in the Hajj pilgrims’ stampede tragedy in Mina, Saudi Arabia has risen to 64, 10 more than previously announced.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said in Abuja on Tuesday that 10 more corpses of deceased Nigerian pilgrims have been identified.
Alhaji Uba Mana, Director, Public Affairs of NAHCON, said the number of pilgrims declared missing in the incident in Mecca remains 244 while the number of injured persons also rose by 10 to 71.
Worldwide, a total of 749 pilgrims were so far reported to have died and 805 others were injured during Thursday’s stampede on the way to the Jamrat complex (site of stoning the devil) in Mina.
The deceased were from 23 states: 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.
Mana said in his update that state pilgrims’ welfare agencies transported 46 of the 64 deceased pilgrims to Saudi Arabia as well as 59 of the 71 injured persons.
Similarly, private tour operators transported 18 of the dead and 12 of the injured.
