65 killed when crane falls in Mecca
BEIRUT At least 65 people were killed Friday when a crane collapsed onto Mecca’s Grand Mosque during a storm.
The Saudi Civil Defense reported continually rising casualty figures as it conducted a rescue operation at the world’s largest mosque, which surrounds the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site. It said on Twitter that 154 people were injured.
Photographs on Saudi websites showed debris from the fallen crane, which crashed through the ceiling of the mosque, as well as people carrying bloodied bodies.
The Saudi city was preparing to receive more than a million Muslims from all over the world this month for the annual haj pilgrimage.
In April, a convention center under construction in Saudi Arabia collapsed, killing at least 11 construction workers who were mainly foreigners.
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