Mecca crane collapse: 107 dead at Grand Mosque

RIYADH: At least 107 Hajj pilgrims have been martyred while 238 other sustained injuries when a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque, ‘Masjidul Haram’, Saudi Interior Minister said.

The Civil Defense said on Twitter that as many as 238 people had been injured.

Photos sent by Twitter from the scene show numerous blood-covered bodies strewn on a marble floor under the arm of a large crane.

At least 52 Pakistanis are among the injured in the carsh.

The Kingdom’s General Directorate of Civil Defense blamed the accident on severe storms.

The governor of the Makkah region, the capital of which is Mecca,  Khalid al-Faisal has ordered the launch of an investigation into the causes of the accident.

Over 68 emergency and rescue groups are active at the scene of the accident, the Saudi Red Crescent said on Facebook.

The Grand Mosque is also known as Masjid al-Haram is the largest mosque in the world. It surrounds Islam’s holiest place, the Kaaba, in the city of Mecca. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba while performing their obligatory daily prayers.

#Makkah: Unverified video purports to show moment crane fell on #GrandMosque of #Mecca http://t.co/q8tDVZAnyZ pic.twitter.com/oApa4dun6B

— RT (@RT_com) September 11, 2015

إصابات ووفيات داخل الحرم المكي الله يرحمهم ويغفرلهم : : : : #سقوط_رافعة_بالحرم_المكي

A video posted by عبد العزيز ناقور (@azooozn01) on Sep 11, 2015 at 9:21am PDT