Nigeria's death toll rises to 75

dimeji akinloye

October 2, 2015 10:06 PM

The chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Mohammed, disclosed this in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Friday, October 2.

Saudi Officials evacuating bodies after the tragedy.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has given the latest death figure of Nigerians in last week's Hajj stampede as 75.

The chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Mohammed, disclosed this in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Friday, October 2.

He said 54 out of 75 pilgrims who died in the stampede were from states’ delegation, while 20 were international pilgrims who used private tour operators.

“We can confirm that 75 persons is the latest figure, while 243 pilgrims are [still] missing,” he said.

Mohammed said Sokoto State had the highest number of casualties.

The NAHCON chairman also noted that those missing could not be declared dead or injured yet, until confirmation comes from the committee set up to determine the status of all victims of the stampede.

The commission said the dead pilgrims were from Bauchi, Borno, Cross Rivers, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Nasarawa states, while others are from Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states.