IN, 11 September, 2015... 107 killed in crane collapse at Mecca's Grand Mosque

By : Mohamed Adel
FOX EGYPT NEWS

A powerful storm caused a crane to topple Friday afternoon at one of Islam's most important mosques -- the Masjid al-Haram, or Grand Mosque in Mecca -- killing at least 107 people and injuring 238 others, Saudi Arabia's civil defense authorities said Friday on Twitter.

The crane fell 10 days before the start of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage expected to bring 2 million people to Mecca. The Masjid al-Haram surrounds Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba -- a shrine that worshippers circle.

A strong thunderstorm developed over Mecca at about 4 p.m. local time Friday (9 a.m. ET), bringing gusty winds that shifted direction and caused the local temperature to drop from 42 to 25 degrees Celsius (107.6 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit), CNN meteorologists reported. The crane fell at 5:23 p.m. local time, Saudi Civil Defense Director Suleiman al-Amro said on state TV.


"We just washed and were getting ready to head to the Masjid al-Haram for the Maghrib prayer (sunset prayer)," he said. "It was sandstorm which turned to rainstorm and lot of the construction covering boards were flying around, and lots of cracking noises which unfortunately ended with this tragedy. ... Everybody were pushing trying to escape from inside towards the exits."








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