Saturday, September 12, 2015
The holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia was braced with a major accident. At least 107 people died and more than 230 were injured when a crane collapsed inside the Mosque.
The Grand Mosque was full of worshippers when a huge red crane came crashing in and broke into pieces. The collapse was caused due to strong winds and heavy rains said the head of Saudi Arabia’s civil defense.
The holy city of Mecca is preparing for the annual Hajj pilgrims where thousands are expected to arrive in Saudi from all over the world in about 10 days time.
The Mosque was full of people when the crash took place as worshippers were offering their Friday prayers. Death toll was reported to continuously rise through the evening.
The city was swept by usually high levels of rainfall and winds of up to 83kph (50mph), just before the crash.
In the video steaming in YouTube loud sounds of crane crashing can be heard and numerous bodies soaking in blood can be seen lying on the floor of the mosque.
The mosque is being expanded by 400,000 square meters (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. Several Muslims visit the site and Islam requires every Muslim to visit the holy place at least once in a lifetime.
Tags: accessible tourism, barometer, boom, central and eastern europe, economic difficulties, GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Grand Mosque Mecca, hajj pilgrimage, international arrivals, international tourists, mediterranean europe, overnight visitors, six months, south america, south asia, South East Asia, united nations agency
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