Death toll has risen again to 107 dead, and 238 injured in crane crash in the grand mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia’s State TV said Friday.
Al Arabiya television earlier said the crane had fallen because of strong storms. Saudi Arabia has been hit by strong sand storms in the last few days.
Saudi authorities have launched a probe into the case, while 15 civil defence and rescue and medical panels have been deployed at the site.
All hospitals in Mecca have been in full alert to receive patients.
The crane fell down because of the bad weather, which was working on the expansion operations at the grand mosque.
The accident happened while the country has started to receive pilgrims from all over the world for the hajj season that will start shortly.
After the conclusion of the current and final expansion, the mosque could accommodate more than 3 million worshipers in one hour.
The expansion aims to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pilgrims from all over the world, especially during Hajj season.
Images posted by social media users showed a horrific scene, with police and onlookers attending to numerous bodies on the polished mosque floors.
A photo released by the authority showed police and workers in hard hats inspecting a pile of collapsed concrete slabs inside a part of the sprawling, ornately decorated mosque. Another showed the base of the toppled red-and-white crane tilted upward at a sharp angle.
Images aired on Saudi state television showed the crane’s metal boom smashed through what appeared to be the roof of the mosque.
Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Mansouri, the spokesman for the presidency of the Mecca and Medina mosque affairs, said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency that the accident happened late Friday afternoon during a severe storm carrying strong winds and heavy rain.
Authorities did not provide details on the victims’ nationalities, but it was likely that the tragedy will touch several countries.
Meanwhile it has been reported that no Sri Lankan nationals are among any of the victims.
