The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria said it has relocated the 484 Nigerian pilgrims affected by a fire incident at their hotel on Shari Mansur Street in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, around 12pm (KSA time) on Saturday.
In a statement signed by Fatima Usara, the Assistant Director, Information and Publications Division, for the Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Prof Abdullahi Usman, the commission stated that the affected pilgrims were all safe and accounted for.
NAHCON said the affected hotel, identified as Imaratus Sanan, was accommodating pilgrims from six Nigerian private tour operator Companies, disclosing that all of them were relocated to Mina after the fire incident.
According to the commission, swift responses by Saudi authorities and the hotel management prevented the fire from spreading fast.
The commission stated that Usman also visited the hotel in company of the Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, Alhaji Aliu Abdulrazak, and Deputy Mecca Coordinator, Alidu Shutti.
The commission said Usman expressed concern during the visit and ordered the immediate relocation of the affected Nigerian pilgrims.
He also promised that the commission would provide every possible support within its capacity to cushion the impact of the incident on the victims.
“The Chairman thanked Almighty Allah that no life was lost in this unfortunate incident, promising that NAHCON will work with the affected Tour Operators to ensure that pilgrims are relocated and provided with the necessary assistance.
“Inspections of the new building have already been completed, and arrangements for resettlement are in progress,” the statement read.
