Over 500 Ghanaian pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia

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Over 500 Ghanaian pilgrims who travelled to this year's Hajj on a Nigeria cargo airline are stranded in Saudi Arabia.

This is because the airline is unable to return the pilgrims as agreed.

They were scheduled to have arrived in Ghana last Friday but information reaching Joy News indicates the airline is focusing on its Nigerian passengers to the detriment of the Ghanaians.

Director of operations of the National Hajj Council Alhaji Amadu Sorogho told Joy News the council is in serious negotiations with the officials of the airline to ensure the pilgrims are brought back home safely.

He explained the stranded pilgrims are unhappy with the Nigerian airline for failing to honour its part of the deal but said they were in no desperate mood.

According to him, the council is taking good care of the pilgrims as efforts continue to resolve the problem.

“The pilgrims have not been allowed to leave Madina so we are paying extra accommodation, they are all sleeping in their hotels, they have every facility you can think of waiting for the confirmation before buses will be provided for them to come to the airport,”

The new development appears to have breached what was initially thought to be an incident-free hajj this year.

Over 2000 pilgrims attended this year's pilgrimage to Mecca, with the first batch of 254 returning home safely last week.

Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview with Alhaji Sorogho