65 dead as crane collapses in Saudi Arabia

Tragedy is gradually taking the shine off this year’s pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as a crane collapsed on Friday killing several people.

Just on Wednesday, five Nigerian pilgrims reportedly died in the holy land—- four in Madinah and one in Mecca.

The death toll from the collapsed crane, which occurred in Mecca has risen to 65, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority has said.

Eighty people were injured when the crane fell on the Grand Mosque, the civil defence authority tweeted.

Read also: Tragedy in Saudi as 5 Nigerian pilgrims die

Images from the scene showed part of a huge red crane had crashed through the roof of the mosque.

Mecca is preparing for the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to arrive in the Saudi city from all over the world later this month.

Construction work has been going on at the Grand Mosque for years to make it big enough to cope with the huge numbers of people who come each year, the BBC’s Arab Affairs analyst Sebastian Usher says.

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