A Saudi official has confirmed that the annual hajj to Mecca will go ahead, despite the horrific crane disaster that killed 107 people and wounded 238 in the city yesterday.
The tragedy occurred when a crane crashed through the ceiling of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, the largest mosque in the world, amid high winds and thunderstorms on Friday afternoon.
An investigation has been launched today, to probe claims that the health and safety standards at the mosque were insufficient.
Some critics have claimed that the authorities were negligent in allowing a series of cranes to tower over the site, as hundreds of thousands of Muslims converge at the holy site for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
 |
| Thunderstorms: A picture captures the moment the fatal crane was struck by lightning prior to collapsing into the mosques, killing dozens |
It has been confirmed today that this year's hajj will still go ahead despite the disaster, and is expected to begin on September 21.
The annual pilgrimage is one of the largest religious festivals in the world, and last year drew two million worshipers.
One of the five pillars of Islam requires every able-bodied Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
Muslim faithful from about 160 countries converge on the Islamic city and other locations in western Saudi Arabia to complete the holy journey.
A Saudi official, who declined to be named, said: 'It definitely will not affect the hajj this season and the affected part will probably be fixed in a few days.'
The giant Saudi Arabian mosque was full of people preparing for the 6.30pm Friday evening prayer session, which is one of the busiest times of the week, when the crane toppled in the heavy rain.
Dramatic footage shows the moment the crane struck the building, with another video capturing the chaos and confusion inside as people ran for shelter from the devastating impact.
Photos posted on social media sees the polished tiled floor of the mosque covered in rubble, bodies and pools of blood, and people fleeing the area bleeding and covered in soot.
The crane fell into the east side of the mosque, with its boom crashing through the roof, killing at least 107 people - with nine Indian citizens, 16 Pakistanis and 15 Iranians reportedly among the dead.
It is not yet known whether all those that died were killed by the crane's collapse, as some reports claim some were killed in a subsequent stampede.
The governor of Mecca region, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, was seen talking with police at the mosque a few hours after the tragedy.
Irfan al-Alawi, co-founder of the Mecca-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, compared the carnage to that caused by a bomb.
He suggested authorities were negligent by having a series of cranes overlooking the mosque.
'They do not care about the heritage, and they do not care about health and safety,' he said.
source: dailymail
Post a Comment