The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) yesterday, again announced an increase in death toll of Nigerians who died in the Makkah stampede to 168.
Last Sunday when the Commission gave an update on the incident, it put the figure at 145, while it stated.165 Nigerians were still missing at the time.
But by yesterday, it stated.144 were now missing, 35 injured, while seven were still being hospitalised in Makkah.
Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Mallam Uba Mana, noted that the update was necessary to keep Nigerians at home abreast of happenings in the Holy Land concerning the fallout of the Muna stampede.
Reiterating the Commission’s stand on the fate of the missing Nigerians, Mana said: “There are procedures in declaring someone dead. The mere fact that we are yet to see the corpses of the missing Nigerians is enough strong reason not to declare them dead. I can confirm to you that there are ongoing efforts to locate them or better still, identify their remains among the dead.
“The DNA matching have been done here in Saudi Arabia for some of the families of those affected, for the purpose of identification. However, the Commission is also making efforts to ensure that others in Nigeria can travel down to Saudi Arabia or submit their blood samples for matching. This, we believe will go a long way to help the situation too.
“I implore Nigerians to be patient with us, as we shall not fail to give an update on the situation, as they are made available to the Commission,” Mana, added.