107 dead in crane collapse at Mecca's Grand Mosque

[Lite Beer]

107 dead in crane collapse at Mecca's Grand Mosque
ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI, Associated Press
ADAM SCHRECK, Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A towering construction crane toppled over on Friday during a violent rainstorm in the Saudi city of Mecca, Islam's holiest site, crashing into the Grand Mosque and killing at least 107 people ahead of the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage later this month.

Images posted by social media users showed a grisly scene, with police and onlookers attending to numerous bodies lying amid pools of blood on the polished mosque floors.

Saudi Arabia's civil defense authority provided a series of rising casualty numbers on its official Twitter account as ambulances whisked the wounded to area hospitals. As of early Saturday, it said those injured in the disaster numbered 238.

A photo released by the authority showed police and workers in hardhats 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.

The Grand Mosque and the cube-shaped Kaaba within it draw Muslims of all types from around the world throughout the year, though numbers increase significantly in the run-up to the hajj. The mosque is Islam's holiest site to which Muslims face in daily prayers and a central site among the hajj rituals.

Performing the pilgrimage once during one's lifetime is a duty for all able-bodied adult Muslims. This year's pilgrimage is expected to start around Sept. 22.

Al-Mansouri said the crane, which was being used in construction work at the mosque, struck a circular area around the Kaaba and a nearby walkway.

Pan-satellite Al-Jazeera Television broadcast footage from inside the mosque compound said to be from the aftermath of the accident, showing the floor strewn with rubble and what appear to be pools of blood.

Another video, on a Twitter posting, captured the apparent moment of the red-and-white crane's collapse during a heavy rainstorm, with a loud boom, screams and confusion.

The governor of the Mecca region, Prince Khalid al-Faisal, quickly called for the formation of a committee to investigate the cause of the accident. He directed all appropriate authorities to provide support for all of those injured, according to a statement from Mecca principality public affairs head Sultan al-Dosari that was carried on SPA.

Other Saudi officials could not immediately be reached or referred queries to the civil defense statements.

Several cranes surround the mosque to support an ongoing expansion and other construction work that has transformed the area around the sanctuary.

Steep hills and low-rise traditional buildings that once surrounded the mosque have in recent years given way to shopping malls and luxury hotels — among them the world's third-tallest building, a giant clock tower that is the centerpiece of the Abraj al-Bait complex.

The construction giant Saudi Binladin Group is leading the mosque expansion and also built the Abraj al-Bait project.

The Binladin family has been close to the ruling Al Saud family for decades and oversees major building projects around the country. The Binladen family disowned one of its many members, late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in the 1990s.

It was not immediately clear who owned the crane that collapsed.

During the week of the hajj, Muslims converge on Mecca to perform a series of rituals, including the circling of the cube-shaped Kaaba, praying and holding vigil at Mount Arafat and perform the symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles at the three pillars in Mina.

Prayers on and around the mount are a climactic emotional and spiritual moment in the hajj. The faithful believe that on that day the gates of heaven are open, prayers are answered and past sins are forgiven.

All male pilgrims, regardless of wealth or status, wear seamless terry white cloths to symbolize equality before God during the hajj. Women cover their hair and wear long loose clothing, forgoing makeup and other adornments to help them detach from worldly pleasures and outward appearances.

It was on Mount Arafat, marked by a white pillar, where Islam's Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon to tens of thousands of followers some 1,400 years ago, calling on Muslims to unite.

While following a route that the prophet once walked, the rites are believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.

The millions of pilgrims who visit the country's holy sites each year pose a considerable security and logistical challenge for the Saudi government, and large-scale deadly accidents have occurred on a number of occasions in years past.

In 2006, more than 360 pilgrims died in a stampede at the desert plain of Mina, near Mecca. A crush of pilgrims two years earlier left 244 dead.

The worst hajj-related tragedy was in 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims died in a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.

___

Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Dubai and Katarina Kratovac in Cairo contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-12

[terryp]

the start of the 2015 shemitah

[Loaded]

god must be angry with muslims - don't blame him

[HenryB]

the start of the 2015 shemitah

The Muslims can repent for their sin by becoming Jewish

[ronrat]

1400 years ago he asked Muslims to unite. They are not listening to him.

[phitsanulokjohn]

RIP and thank God this tragic incident didn't occur when the pilgrimage had begun,otherwise the fatalities could have been far greater.

[Lite Beer]

Two Thais among 184 Muslim injured in Mecca crane collapse
The Nation

MECCA: -- Two Thais were among 184 Muslims injured when a construction crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia Friday, Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said.

The two Thais were identified as Maeyoh Taemo, 47, a woman from Pattani and Sama-ae Shazu, 48, a man from Yala.

The two have received treatment at the Faisal Hospital and were handed over to the medical team of the Thai embassy.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Two-Thais-among-184-Muslim-injured-in-Mecca-crane--30268671.html

-- The Nation 2015-09-12

[bendejo]

It was god's will!

[Lantern]

Certainly looks like Karma.

They got their very own 9/11.

[thaibeachlovers]

It was god's will!

As they say

Insha'Allah,

It is a central tenant of their faith and very useful for infidels such as myself to use when something went wrong. I would just say "Insha'Allah" and they couldn't argue about it.

[bangkokheat]

the virgins are going to be busy

[geriatrickid]

RIP and thank God this tragic incident didn't occur when the pilgrimage had begun,otherwise the fatalities could have been far greater.

What a silly comment. Do you also want to give thanks that a meteorite didn't fall on the day of Eid al-Fitr?

The cranes were to be removed or secured for the start of the Hajj. This phase of the expansion of the Grand Mosque started in 2012 and was to be finished before the start of the Hajj.

9-11 will certainly be a day that many Saudis will remember.

[geriatrickid]

the virgins are going to be busy

Only applies to martyrs while waging jihad. Please read the fine print of the jihadi manual.

[Mosha]

9/11 14 years ago, there was dancing in the streets in the M.E. 9/11 yesterday, and non muslims don't bat an eyelid.

[oxo1947]

News from Mecca: -----friends and relatives of the dead crane crash victims are no longer so concerned with the will of Allah,

suddenly they are more worried about the will of uncle Ahmed,

the will of cousin Mustafa ,

the will of Ibrahim..................................................

[Shermanator]

Allah is great! Literally.

[arfurcrown]

Osama Bin Laden Family construction business crane collapses killing 107 .

Poetic justice when one considers the date.

Christain God 1. - Allah Muslims 0

The LORD is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and continues to rage against his enemies!

[Loptr]

It is a bit odd that lightening strikes the holiest of holy places for muslims on the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks...

[Tywais]

[impulse]

107 human beings -children of God just like me- with families and dreams and plans, have perished.

I take no joy and see no humor in that.

Edited September 12, 2015 by impulse

[arfurcrown]

impulse post # 20.

107 human beings -children of God just like me- with families and dreams and plans, have perished.

I take no joy and see no humor in that.

Unlike those of the assorted Semitic tribes who danced in the streets of New York and assorted Arabian states to celebrate the twin towers incident some 14 years ago.

You are of course aware of the dire penalties that are meted out to Christians within many Islamic states , ''human beings-children of god just like me- with families and dreams and plans.''

Perhaps you would be wise to consider the full facts before posting.

[impulse]

Perhaps you would be wise to consider the full facts before posting.

I did. And I considered the reaction from all the haters here. Still, I stand by my statements. I take no joy and find no humor in the death of 107 fellow human beings, regardless of the accident of their birth into a country and a religion different from my own.

Edited September 12, 2015 by impulse

[stevenl]

impulse post # 20.

107 human beings -children of God just like me- with families and dreams and plans, have perished.

I take no joy and see no humor in that.

Unlike those of the assorted Semitic tribes who danced in the streets of New York and assorted Arabian states to celebrate the twin towers incident some 14 years ago.

You are of course aware of the dire penalties that are meted out to Christians within many Islamic states , ''human beings-children of god just like me- with families and dreams and plans.''

Perhaps you would be wise to consider the full facts before posting.

And many people were outraged at the joy that was, very rarely but it was there, displayed by a few after 9/11. And you feel it just to show the same joy now?

[NoshowJones]

It's Karma, the anniversary of the Twin Towers atrocity.

[arfurcrown]

No joy shown but a certain satisfaction concerning the coincidence of the date .

As possum states. ''Karma.''

No different from those that persecute 90 + year old people for alleged war crimes.

[stevenl]

No joy shown but a certain satisfaction concerning the coincidence of the date .

As possum states. ''Karma.''

No different from those that persecute 90 + year old people for alleged war crimes.

What? So it a worshipper being killed by a failing crane is the same a a Nazi camp guard prosecuted for killing many innocent people purely because of their heritage?

[IMA_FARANG]

Unlike some of the fools who commented on this topic ,I have worked in That area.

Although as I am not a Muslim I was not able to enter Mecca, however, I did work in Taif, which is quite close to Mecca by road....less than 20Km by road if I recall.

At this time of year it is not unusual for storms to come in off The Red Sea into Jeddah.

Jeddah, as a seaport is obviously at Sea level, Taif is nearly 2000 meters above sea level.

The two cities are only about 100Km apart.

Warm moist air is drawn in to Jeddah and if the winds blow to the Northeast towards Taif and Mecca , that moist air is lifted 2000 meters in altitude in that 100Km from Jeddah.

I have seen violent wind and rain (even Hail) in Taif from violent thunderstorms at this time of year In Taif.

I myself have been in some of those violent thunderstorms.

The storms and the wind come down the mountains from Taif and blow into Jeddah and Mecca

So for me the story of a violent thunderstorm in Mecca that blew the crane down is not at all unlikely.

People that have never been to Saudi Arabia think it never rains there, it's all sand desert.

That just isn't true as I have seen with my own eyes.

[kinmaew]

With the plight of their muslim brothers and sisters suffering under that dog Assad what are the rich arab states doing? Sweet FA, instead the Christian countries are the only ones that offer help. Hey muslims what does that say to you? What is the value of your Islam now in times of catastrophe?

[impulse]

There does seem to be a form of myopia that is clouding the visions of some of our posters and their sympathy for the faithful who if one looks at the list in the links below have no qualms about taking the lives of those who worship another deity.

What? So it a worshiper being killed by a failing crane is the same as Muslim killing many innocent people purely because of their religious heritage?

Here's a quick and easy Google exercise for you. Find out how many Muslims are in the world. Then find out how many terrorist killings last year by Muslims. Should take less than 5 minutes with Google.

Divide the 2 numbers, then mentally fill a stadium with 50,000 statistically average Muslims. How many of those statistically average Muslims in that stadium are terrorist killers?

How many of the 107 random Muslims killed yesterday do you figure "deserved it"?

[arfurcrown]

None of them deserved it as did none of the victims of the Muslim terrorist.

The whole issue reflects just what an enemy of peace religious beliefs and superstitions are in our world since humans beings were first conned into the belief of the God (s) myths.

However as an exercise in the truth of the matter as you see it impulse why don't you post the findings of the actions you propound .

However if we look over time it proves beyond a doubt how evil that religious beliefs are and that their supporters are no more than'' born again murderous killers.

The sooner this world is rid of religion in all of its perverse forms the sooner peace will reign.

Edited September 12, 2015 by arfurcrown