Saudi Arabia blames winds for deadly crane collapse

Monday, 14 September 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (2nd right) arrives to the scene where a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia 12 September. Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that stormy winds knocked over the crane which collapsed onto one of Islam’s holiest shrines in Mecca and killed 107 people on Friday – REUTERS

Reuters: Stormy winds knocked over the crane which collapsed onto one of Islam’s holiest shrines in Mecca and killed 107 people on Friday, Saudi Arabia said on Saturday (September 12).

Still photographs showed Muslim pilgrims praying and continuing to visit the site as emergency crews worked.

The number of deaths may increase, an official warned on Al Arabiya TV, although many of the 238 people injured in the accident were only lightly wounded.

Mecca’s governor, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has ordered an investigation into the incident, Al Arabiya said.

Much of the city centre is undergoing construction work and many high cranes crowd the skyline. The Grand Mosque itself is undergoing an expansion and renovation.

The disaster was the latest in a series of deadly mishaps to hit the haj, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, after hundreds of pilgrims died in a stampede in 2006.

Authorities have broadened access paths and imposed limits on the millions of Muslims who converge on Mecca to perform the annual rite in an attempt to reduce accidents.

An unnamed Saudi official involved in organising the haj was quoted by Al Arabiya as saying the pilgrimage would go ahead as planned.