The grim reality of the Mina, Saudi Arabia stampede was further highlighted yesterday with the news that Nigeria’s death toll had hit 64.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said in Makkah that 10 more bodies were identified, raising the toll from 54 to 64.
The commission’s Public Affairs Director, Uba Mana, said 244 pilgrims were missing.
The figure of the injured also jumped to 71 from 61 previously announced.
Mana said of the 64 dead pilgrims, 46 were transported to Saudi Arabia by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies and 18 by private tour operators.
Mana also said 12 of the 71 injured pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia by tour operators and 59 by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies.
He said 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.
Last Thursday’s stampede occurred on the way to the Jamrat complex (stoning site) in Mina.
The Saudi authorities have declared that no fewer than 749 pilgrims died; 805 others were injured.
Mana said: “We cannot declare missing Nigerians dead because you cannot confirm someone dead without the corpse.
“And because during the stampede, helicopters came around picking victims and taking them to hospitals, we have decided to extend our search to all hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Kaduna all along said they had no missing pilgrims. But by yesterday, they called and said they cannot find six of their pilgrims.
“So the figure keeps changing; it may increase or decrease. Some of the injured have been treated and discharged.”
But a former Governor of Nasarawa State and Amirul Hajj (head of delegation) of the state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, yesterday denied that some pilgrims from the state died in the stampede in Mina.
Abdullahi, who spoke with reporters in Makkah, said contrary to reports, the state recorded two deaths from natural causes.
He said: “We mourn the deaths and injuries of our brothers and sisters in the stampede and commiserate with their families, Nigerians and the Muslim world. We did not lose any pilgrims in the unfortunate incident, so the reports to that effect is misleading and should be ignored.
“We actually lost two pilgrims, one died in his sleep two weeks before the stampede and the other was due to ailment on which Nigerian and Saudi medical personnel tried their best on the pilgrim but he died. There were no other deaths.”
The Ondo State Government said it lost three persons.
A statement by Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade also said the whereabouts of seven others remained unknown.
But the government did not disclose names of the victims.
The statement said: “Of the 312 members of the state’s contingent to the 2015 hajj, three have been confirmed dead in the unfortunate accident in Saudi Arabia while seven are still missing. We note that many other Nigerians across the country also lost their lives in the sad occurrence.
“Government is saddened by these unfortunate losses. We can only send words of condolence to families of the dead across the country.
“While we pray for the safety of those still missing, we commiserate with the Muslim Ummah in Ondo State and Nigeria at large. We pray that the deceased find rest with their maker.”
Bauchi State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board also declared that five pilgrims from the state were missing.
Executive Secretary Aliyu Suleman said: “Officials of the Board have visited hospitals in Mina and Mecca in search of the missing pilgrims.
“The officials have visited hospital mortuaries and hospital beds, but so far, there is no news of the five,” Suleiman said.
He added: “So far, only one pilgrim from Darazo Local Government, Alhaji Sule Ibrahim, has been confirmed dead.”
Apart from those who died in the stampede, 19 other Nigerians died of illnesses.
The head of the Medical Data Unit, Dr Jibrin Suleman, said the centre confirmed the figure.
The centre has five clinics, two in Madinah and three in Mecca to cater for Nigerian pilgrims.
Briefing the leader, Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Hajj, Sen. Ali Wakili, during a visit to the centre in Mecca, Suleman said most of the dead are aged between 65 years and above.
He said most of the deceased had died of heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes and other related ailments.
Suleman said the centre, which was limited to the provision of basic treatment only, recorded two miscarriages and referred 50 cases to hospitals within the period.
He said more than 10,000 pilgrims visited the centre for cold, malaria, body pains and other simple and non-complicated cases.
Also briefing the committee, the Head, Medical Team of the centre, Dr Muhammad Bello Abdulkadir, said the clinics had drugs.
“We brought some of the drugs from Nigeria, while others were procured in Saudi Arabia,” he stressed.
Abdulkadir also said that NAHCON recruited 232 medical staff, including doctors, nurses and others, to man the clinics.
He, however, complained that the centre had no ambulance to move to the pilgrims’ hostels during emergencies.
Wakili said members of the ad hoc committee were going round NAHCON facilities in Saudi Arabia to record some of their problems and present them to the Senate for redressing.
He praised members of the medical team for their dedication and hard work and urged them to use the limited facilities for the benefit of the pilgrim.
