Crane collapse kills 107 at Grand Mosque

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)

Riyadh: A massive construction crane crashed into Makkah’s Grand Mosque in stormy weather yesterday killing at least 107 people and injuring 238 Saudi authorities said less than a fortnight before the annual Haj pilgrimage.

General Suleiman Al Amr Director-General of the Civil Defence Authority told Al Ikhbariya television earlier that 184 people were injured.

“All those who were wounded and the dead have been taken to hospital. There are no casualties left at the location” he added. Strong wind and rains had uprooted trees and affected cranes in the area he said.

The Qatari Haj mission said that all its members were well. An official in the mission said that all Qataris are in good health.

The civil defence authority said on Twitter that emergency teams were sent to the scene after a “crane fell at the Grand Mosque”. That came about an hour after it tweeted that Makkah was “witnessing medium to heavy rains” and pictures circulating on social media showed lightning.

Ahmed bin Mohammad Al Mansoori spokesman for the two Holy mosques was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying that part of a crane collapsed at 5:10pm (1410 GMT) “as a result of strong winds and heavy rains”. Abdel Aziz Naqoor who said he works at the mosque said he saw the crane fall after being hit by the storm. “If it weren’t for Al Tawaf bridge the injuries and deaths would have been worse” he said referring to a covered walkway that surrounds the Holy Ka’aba and broke the crane’s fall.

Pictures of the incident on Twitter showed bloodied bodies strewn across a courtyard where the top part of the crane which appeared to have bent or snapped had crashed into the several storey-high building.

A video on YouTube showed people screaming and rushing around right after a massive crash was heard and as fog engulfed the city.

The Grand Mosque is usually at its most crowded on Fridays. Many faithful would have been gathered there ahead of evening Mahgrib prayers which occurred about an hour after the tragedy.

The Governor of Makkah region Prince Khaled Al Faisal has ordered an investigation into the incident and was heading to the mosque the official @makkahregion page on Twitter said.

Online activists created a hashtag on Twitter urging residents to donate blood at hospitals in the area. No details were immediately available on the nationalities of the victims.

A massive project is currently underway to expand the area of the mosque by 400000 square metres allowing it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once. The mosque is surrounded by a number of cranes.

The incident occurred as hundreds of thousands of Muslims gather from all over the world for the annual Haj pilgrimage expected to begin on September 21. SPA said that almost 800000 pilgrims had arrived by yesterday for the Haj. Agencies

Doha: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday sent a cable of condolences to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud after the death of victims of a crane collapse in Makkah praying upon Allah the Almighty to bestow blessing upon the deceased and wishing the injured a speedy recovery. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani sent similar cables. QNA