Crane collapse kills at least 107 in Mecca Grand Mosque

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At least 107 people have been killed and 238 others injured after a crane collapsed in Mecca's Grand Mosque, Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority says.

Pictures posted online showed queues of Saudi men volunteering to donate blood for those injured in Friday's crash.

Major General Suleiman Al-Amro, director-general of Saudi's civil defence authority, told Saudi TV that a storm with severe rain and wind speeds as high as 83kmh caused the tower crane to collapse.

"The crane collapsed near Al-Salam gate on the upper side of Al-Masaa area and that caused the collapse of a small part of Al-Masaa and another section of Al-Mataf, the bridge area around the holy Kaaba,” Amro said.  

Mecca is Islam's holiest site. Pilgrims from around the world have been converging on the city and the mosque for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which starts on September 21.


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