Crane collapses into Mecca's Grand Mosque; Saudi
officials say at least 87 killed, many hurt
By: Abdullah Al-Shihri And Adam Schreck, The Associated
Press
Posted: 09/11/2015 12:13 PM | Last Modified: 09/11/2015 2:53 PM
Posted: 09/11/2015 12:13 PM | Last Modified: 09/11/2015 2:53 PM
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -
A towering construction crane collapsed on Friday during a violent rainstorm in
Saudi Arabia's city of Mecca, Islam's holiest site, crashing into the Grand
Mosque and killing at least 87 people ahead of the start of the annual hajj
pilgrimage later this month.
Videos and photos posted by social media users showed a
grisly scene, with police and onlookers attending to bloodied bodies on the
polished mosque floors.
Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority provided a series of
rising casualty numbers on its official Twitter account. As of late Friday, it said
those injured in the disaster numbered 184.
A photo posted online by the authority showed police and
workers in hardhats inspecting a pile of collapsed concrete slabs inside a part
of the sprawling, ornately decorated mosque.
Authorities did not provide details on the victims'
nationalities, but it was likely that the tragedy will touch several countries.
The Grand Mosque and the cube-shaped Kaaba within it draw
Muslims of all types from around the world throughout the year, though numbers
increase significantly in the run-up to the hajj.
Performing the pilgrimage once during one's lifetime is a
duty for all able-bodied adult Muslims.
Pan-satellite Al-Jazeera Television
broadcast footage from inside the mosque compound said to be from the aftermath
of the accident, showing the floor strewn with rubble and what appear to be
pools of blood.
Another video, on a Twitter posting, captured the apparent
moment of the crane's collapse during a heavy rainstorm, with a loud boom,
screams and confusion.
Other Saudi officials could not immediately be reached or
referred queries to the civil defence statements.
Several cranes surround the mosque to support an ongoing
expansion and other construction work that has transformed the area around the
sanctuary.
Steep hills and low-rise traditional buildings that once
surrounded the mosque have in recent years given way to shopping malls and
luxury hotels — among them the world's third-tallest building, a giant clock
tower that is the centerpiece of the Abraj al-Bait complex.
The construction giant Saudi Binladin Group
is leading the mosque expansion and also built the Abraj al-Bait
project.
The Binladin family has been close to the ruling Al Saud
family for decades and oversees major building projects around the country. The
Binladen family disowned one of its many members, late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden,
in the 1990s.
It was not immediately clear who owned the crane that
collapsed or whether it was involved in the expansion of the mosque or another
project nearby.
___
Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer
Aya Batrawy in Dubai contributed to this report.
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bin awahd bin Laden was Osama Bin
Laden’s father, the founder of the Saudi
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Saud’s builder.
Abdul Aziz Al
Saud’s builder was Mohammed bin
awahd bin Laden, was the Saudi
Arabia king, and Alwaleed bin Talal’s
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Talal is Abdul Aziz Al Saud’s grandson,
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was awarded 2007 Jeremiah Wright Jr. Trumpeter award from the Trumpeter Newsmagazine, and is the
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was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
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Chicago.
Newton N. Minow
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Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley
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planned the 9-11 terrorist attacks,
and was Mohammed bin awahd bin Laden’s
son.
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bin awahd bin Laden was Osama Bin
Laden’s father, the founder of the Saudi
Binladin Group, and Abdul Aziz Al
Saud’s builder.
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awahd bin Laden, was the Saudi
Arabia king, and Alwaleed bin Talal’s
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