Hajj 2023: 13 Nigerians Die in Saudi Arabia

Hajj 2023: 13 Nigerians Die in Saudi Arabia

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem, in Makkah

The number of Nigerian pilgrims that have died in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the course of performing Hajj this year has increased to 13.

While seven of the victims died before Arafat, six died post Arafat (four in Arafat, two in Mina).

The post Arafat figure for this year is higher than the combined figures of 2022 (two) and 2018 (two). The figure is the same as that of 2019 while it is higher than the post Arafat figures of 2016 and 2017 when three deaths were recorded each.

According to the Head of the Medical Mission to this year’s Hajj, Dr Usman Galadima, three of the dead victims were from the Tour Operators while two each were from Kaduna and Osun states.

Plateau, Borno, Yobe, FCT, Benue and Lagos states recorded one death each.

According to a presentation he made at a Post Arafat briefing in Makkah on Sunday night, Dr Galadima announced that a total of 25,722 pilgrims were treated by the medical team throughout the the post Arafat period out of which the men were 10,454 and women were 15,268.

According to the doctor, there were 93 emergency cases out of which there were seven heat strokes, 22 severe malaria, seven DM emergencies and five psychiatric cases.

There were also three reported cases of chicken pox which the doctor said were all taken out of Mina to the hospital in Makkah to avoid contagion.

The doctor also reported two cases of deliveries by pregnant women, one on the roadside and another one in one of the NAHCON medical facilities.

In his recommendation, Dr Galadima called on elderly pilgrims to stop going to Jamarat while all pilgrims should use the training service to access the place. He added that medical screening at state levels should be scaled up to stop medically unfit pilgrims from coming for Hajj.