Crane crash at grand mosque ‘kills 87’ in Mecca

A crane has crashed at one of Islam’s most important mosques, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, killing at least 87 people and injuring about 154 others.

Saudi Arabian authorities confirmed the tragic accident on Friday on Twitter, adding that the country’s civil defence authority’s rescue teams had been sent to the scene.

There was no immediate comment about the cause of the collapse from official sources.

Speaking to TheCable, a source in the country said it was caused by a heavy downpour, corroborating Saudi 1 television’s account that the crane had fallen because of strong storms which hit the Holy land.

Saudi authorities have taken a series of safety measures over the past decade aimed at preventing crowd crushes after tragedies, the UK guardian has said.

The country experienced a stampede in 2006, which resulted in 350 deaths, That same year, a building collapse killed 76, while a stampede killed more than 200 people in 2004.

The Masjid al-Haram surrounds Islam’s holiest site, the Kaaba, where worshipers visit during the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Grand Mosque, which houses the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims worldwide pray, has been surrounded by a number of cranes following reconstruction works wthat had been going on to enlarge the mosque to accommodate up to 2.2 million people.

The work has continued for the past two years and was expected to be largely completed before this year’s pilgrimage, which was originally billed to begin this September.

Pilgrims from Nigeria are currently in the country observing Hajj rites as outlined by the Quran, Islam’s Holy book.

Approximately 2 million people a year make the pilgrimage in the middle-eastern country.

Photo credit: CNN