Nigeria Hajj death toll rises to 145

At least 145 Nigerians are now known to have died during last month’s Hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, Nigerian officials have said.

The head of Nigeria’s Hajj Commission Abdullahi Mukhtar Mohammed told the BBC that a further 165 people have not yet been accounted for.

Mr Mukhtar said that the Saudi authorities took finger prints of the deceased and that DNA tests would be conducted on bodies to work out who is still missing.

Saudi authorities put the death toll from last month’s crush near Mecca at 769, but foreign media and officials put the figure at more than 1,000.

BBC Monitoring put the death toll at 1,216, based on official statements and media reports from 34 countries who lost citizens in the stampede.