54 Nigerians die in Hajj stampede

At least 54 Nigerians have been reported dead in last Thursday's stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage.

The stampede, is said to be the deadliest to hit the Hajj in 25 years.

Over 769 pilgrims died in the crush, more than 200 of them are believed to be from Africa.

It appears the crush was caused when the pilgrims converged at a junction in Mina, near Mecca, in Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning.
The pilgrims were taking part in Hajj's final major rite - throwing stones at pillars called Jamarat, where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham.

The chairman of Nigeria's National Hajj Commission, Abdullahi Mukhtar confirmed the numbers but said the death toll is likely to rise because some pilgrims are still missing.

Iran had the highest number of deaths, with at least 140.

African deaths at Hajj stampede
 Morocco; 87
 Egypt; 55
 Niger; 22
 Cameroon; 21
 Ivory Coast; 14
 Chad; 11
 Somalia; 8 (media reports)
 Algeria; 8
 Senegal; 5
 Tanzania; 5 (about 50 missing)
 Libya; 4
 Kenya; 3
 Burkina Faso; 1 (Muslim Association report)

Source: BBC