At least 87 people have died after a crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the Saudi Arabian government has said.

More than 180 people were injured in the accident, the country's civil defence authority said on Twitter.

Images from the scene showed part of a huge red crane crashed through the mosque's roof. The cause of the collapse is not known.


Mecca is currently preparing for the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to arrive in the Saudi city from all over the world later this month.

Reports suggested the crane fell on the east side of the mosque following high winds and rain. The Arabian peninsula has been has been hit by strong sand storms over the past week.

A video posted on YouTube, which could not be independently verified, appeared to record the moment the crane fell, with a loud crash heard in the background followed by panic and shouting.

Images circulating on Twitter appeared to show numerous bodies and blood on the floor of the mosque.
The mosque is the largest in the world and the destination for millions of Muslims undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage every year.

Saudi authorities began a major expansion of the site last year to increase the area of the mosque by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet), to allow it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

More than three million people undertook the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 2012. Saudi authorities have taken steps in 2013 to limit the number of people involved. Large numbers of people have resulted in several tragedies over the years, including a stampede in 2006 that killed nearly 350 people.

At the heart of the Grand Mosque is the Kaaba, Islam's most sacred site, a black cube-shaped building which Muslims all over the world face when they pray.

Islam requires that every Muslim capable of doing so performs a pilgrimage to the site at least once in their lifetime. Once at the mosque, pilgrims perform "tawaf" - walking seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction.

source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34226003

cc: lalasticlala ishilove OAM4J

Eyah. May their allah take the souls of the slain.
But In lalasticlala's voice " o.p where is ur source ?"

So sad ! Its live on aljazeera

Strange it happened on 9/11... Hmm

YerYer:
Real or fake?

So real. Its so sad . Its live on aljazeera

Sad news! may almighty Allah rest their souls. At least they died in the holy land.

amsad19:


source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34226003

cc: lalasticlala ishilove OAM4J

but sadly it already made frontpage. Read here https://www.nairaland.com/2592743/least-65-dead-makkah-grand

Hope no nigeria is there?

YerYer:
Strange it happened on 9/11... Hmm

Very strange, I saw that this is not the first time this so called holy site has taken lives. As usual, Allah keeps socking blood in différent ways. Bombing, beheading, and even natural disaster....if allah cannot control the wind and tender that caused this collapse , then allah is powerless. And does not exist. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

2006: More than 360 pilgrims are killed in a stampede at the desert plain of Mina, near Mecca, where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls.

The day before the hajj began, an eight-story building being used as a hostel near the Grand Mosque in Mecca collapsed, killing at least 73 people.
___
2004: A crush of pilgrims at Mina kills 244 pilgrims and injures hundreds on the final day of the hajj ceremonies.
___
2001: A stampede at Mina during the final day of the pilgrimage ceremonies kills 35 hajj pilgrims.
___
1998: About 180 pilgrims are trampled to death in panic after several of them fell off an overpass during the final stoning ritual at Mina.
___
1997: At least 340 pilgrims are killed in a fire at the tent city of Mina as the blaze was aided by high winds. More than 1,500 were injured.
___
1994: A stampede during the stoning ritual at Mina resulted in 270 deaths.
___
1990: The worst hajj-related tragedy claims the lives of 1,426 pilgrims in a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.

plappville:


Very strange, I saw that this is not the first time this so called holy site has taken lives. As usual, Allah keeps socking blood in différent ways. Bombing, beheading, and even natural disaster....if allah cannot control the wind and tender that caused this collapse , then allah is powerless. And does not exist. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.

My dear, the same thing could've happened at a church or synagogue.