Summary
We’re bringing this live blog to a close tonight, as it is after midnight in Mecca.
Here’s how things stand at the moment:
- A construction crane has crashed through the eastern side of Mecca’s Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia, the holy building at the centre of the annual hajj pilgrimage
- 87 people are dead and 201 people are injured according to the Saudi civil defence authority’s Twitter posts.
- Extreme weather is the likely cause of the collapse, authorities said, with heavy rain, lightning strikes and high winds hitting the Muslim holy city on Friday, 10 days before the start of the hajj.
- Reconstruction work to enlarge the Grand Mosque had been ongoing for the past two years and was expected to be largely completed before this year’s pilgrimage, which begins on 22 September.
- The construction work was being led by the construction giant Saudi Binladin Group, but it is not yet known which company the crane belonged to.
- Saudi investigators are still ascertaining the identities of the dead and injured, but India said nine of its citizens were among the wounded.
- Images from inside the mosque show an enormous crater in the mosque’s stone floor, with pictures on social media of bodies covered in debris and blood stains on the tiles.
- The governor of Mecca region, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has ordered an investigation into the incident.
Updated
Abdel Aziz Naqoor, an employee at the mosque, has told AFP he saw the crane fall after being hit by the storm.
“If it weren’t for Al-Tawaf bridge the injuries and deaths would have been worse,” he said, referring to a covered walkway that surrounds the Kaaba, the massive cube structure in the centre of the mosque, which he said broke the crane’s fall.
Mecca is no stranger to tragic accidents in modern times, particularly as hundreds of thousands descend on the city prior to the annual hajj.
The Associated Press have published a timeline of some of the gravest tragedies, most of which were caused by overcrowding, which the Saudi government had been attempting to avert by the major improvement works taking place at the Grand Mosque.
2006: More than 360 pilgrims are killed in a stampede at the desert plain of Mina, near Mecca, where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls.
The day before the hajj began, an eight-story building being used as a hostel near the Grand Mosque in Mecca collapsed, killing at least 73 people.
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2004: A crush of pilgrims at Mina kills 244 pilgrims and injures hundreds on the final day of the hajj ceremonies.
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2001: A stampede at Mina during the final day of the pilgrimage ceremonies kills 35 hajj pilgrims.
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1998: About 180 pilgrims are trampled to death in panic after several of them fell off an overpass during the final stoning ritual at Mina.
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1997: At least 340 pilgrims are killed in a fire at the tent city of Mina as the blaze was aided by high winds. More than 1,500 were injured.
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1994: A stampede during the stoning ritual at Mina resulted in 270 deaths.
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1990: The worst hajj-related tragedy claims the lives of 1,426 pilgrims in a stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites in Mecca.
Updated
The number of people injured in the crane’s collapse has risen to 201, according to the Saudi civil defence authority.
ارتفاع عدد الإصابات إلى ٢٠١ إصابة.
— الدفاع المدني (@KSA_998) September 11, 2015
Dramatic new images have emerged from inside the mosque showing the sheer size of the red-and-white constriction crane, whose collapse has caused a huge crater in the white tiled floor of the mosque.
Saudi TV has been showing images as rescue workers and security officials assess the damage, with dirt and debris across the floor.
Pictures of the mosque before the collapse show the sheer number of cranes that were surrounding the mosque at the time of the accident.
It was not immediately clear who owned the crane that collapsed or whether it was involved in the expansion of the mosque or another project nearby.
The construction giant Saudi Binladin Group is leading the mosque expansion. The Binladin family is close to the ruling Al Saud family, and is overseeing numerous building project across the Kingdom.
The al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was a member of the wealthy family, though there are vast numbers of relatives. He was disowned in the 1990s.
The UK Foreign Office says it is urgently investigating whether any British citizens were caught up in the accident.
“We are are aware of the incident and are in close contact with the Saudi authorities,” a spokeswoman said.
It is understood that authorities have not yet indicated that any British citizens may have been harmed in the crane’s collapse, and were beginning the process of identifying the 87 people killed at the Grand Mosque.
India’s foreign ministry said nine of its citizens were among the 184 injured pilgrims.
Our Consulate in Jeddah is monitoring situation in Makkah following tragic accident. We have recd reports that 9 Indian pilgrims are injured
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 11, 2015
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said 15 Iranian pilgrims were among those injured, quoting the head of the Hajj Organisation Saeid Ohadi.
Most only suffered minor injuries and were treated as outpatients, he said.
Updated
This video shows the immediate aftermath of the collapse as Saudi Arabian emergency services secure the accident site at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Politicians from several Muslim countries and across the rest of the world have been offering their condolences to the family members of pilgrims who were killed after the crane collapse.
Saddened to learn of the death of pilgrims as a result of the crane accident in Haram Sharif.Condolences & prayers go to families of victims
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 11, 2015
I express my deep sense of grief & sorrow over the deaths due to the crane collapse at the grand mosque of #Mecca
— Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri (@TahirulQadri) September 11, 2015
Heartfelt condolences to families of deceased due to crane crash in Mecca, prayers for speedy recovery of the injured #PresidentMukherjee
— President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 11, 2015
Shocked by devastating disaster in #Mecca. My condolences to all who have been affected by the tragedy, and strength to the wounded prayers
— Linas Linkevicius (@LinkeviciusL) September 11, 2015
Saudi authorities say storm to blame for crane collapse at Grand Mosque
In a statement posted in Arabic on Twitter, the civil defence authorities said storms had caused the crane’s collapse.
It said emergency services had attended the scene immediately, and confirmed 87 people had died in the collapse, with 184 in hospital.
The authority expressed “sincere condolences” for those killed in the accident. “We ask God for forgiveness and acceptance of them and to grant their families patience and solace, and pray to God for a speedy recovery for the injured,” it said.
Updated
The Saudi interior ministry’s general directorate of civil defence has released images from inside the mosque showing personnel, including the authority’s director general Lt Gen Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Amr, inspecting the damage.
Officials can be seen wearing protecting masks as they put green plastic barriers around the enormous chucks which have been taken out of the mosque’s polished tiled floor by falling debris.
Updated
New pictures are emerging of rescue workers from the Saudi Red Crescent mobilising to help the injured, as well as images of the enormous red crane on its side where it crashed through the mosque’s wall.
Updated
87 confirmed dead in Grand Mosque
The number of people killed in the crane crash is rising, according to Saudi authorities who now say more than 80 people were killed inside the mosque.
The civil defence authority is tweeting updated figures, in Arabic.
The governor of Mecca region, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has now ordered an investigation into the incident.
ارتفع عددالوفيات إلى ٨٧ حالة وفاة.
— الدفاع المدني (@KSA_998) September 11, 2015
Here’s a more detailed map of the area around the Grand Mosque.
The current structure covers more than 88 acres, but is currently being expanded in improvement works that were due to be completed for this the five-day hajj, which begins on 21 September.
The number of pilgrims is strictly controlled by Saudi Arabian authorities and quotas from each country are reduced due to the construction work.
Updated
Saudi civil defence authority has updated the numbers injured to 184.
It said earlier that 65 people were believed to have been killed when the crane crashed through the Grand Mosque.
ارتفاع عدد الإصابات إلى ١٨٤ إصابة.
— الدفاع المدني (@KSA_998) September 11, 2015
#الدفاع_المدني #العاصمة_المقدسة pic.twitter.com/SKehEgLyez
— الدفاع المدني (@KSA_998) September 11, 2015
Updated
This video captures the moment the crane collapsed on top of the Grand Mosque, and the confusion that ensures, with shouts as people run from the chaos.
Jon Erdman, a meteorologist for the Weather Channel, said there was extreme weather in Mecca at the time of the crane’s collapse.
T-storm straight-line winds likely the cause of the #Mecca deadly crane collapse. http://t.co/T7SMCG31py pic.twitter.com/PbRxJ6vLxS
— Jonathan Erdman (@wxjerdman) September 11, 2015
“Infrared satellite imagery showed an impressive conflagration of thunderstorms in the mountains around the ‘Hollow of Mecca’ Friday evening,” Erdman said.
“These storms were certainly capable of producing strong outflow wind gusts, as is often the case in desert environments.”
According reports on Al Jazeera, the crane fell on the east side of the building after a sandstorm, high winds and heavy rain.
The news channel reported the building’s doors were shut and people were locked inside. There was “slight pandemonium”, its reporter said.
“Dozens of ambulances are heading to the site. The authorities closed off the area shortly afterwards,” he said.
“This whole place is already a construction site. What made it worse is that around 5.30pm there was severe rain and it’s just gushing down the road,” he said. “I am surrounded by people who are grieving. The mood here is of sadness.”
This is Mecca’s Grand Mosque, also called the Masjid al-Haram, before the crane crash.
It houses the Kaaba - the massive cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims worldwide pray.
Updated
Death toll at Mecca's Grand Mosque climbs to 65, with 145 injured
At least 65 people were killed and a further 154 were injured when the crane collapsed, the Saudi Arabian government has said.
The civil defence authority has tweeted pictures of rescue workers at the scene.
مباشرة مدير عام الدفاع المدني الفريق سليمان العمرو لحادث سقوط رافعة في الحرم المكي بـ #العاصمة_المقدسة. pic.twitter.com/aeVrlSi547
— الدفاع المدني (@KSA_998) September 11, 2015
Updated
Images of the chaos inside the mosque are circulating on social media, which the Guardian cannot independently verify and which are too graphic to reproduce.
They show numerous bodies, some already covered by scarves, and blood on the tiles of the mosque’s hall, where people had gathered for Friday prayers.
Saudi authorities had taken a series of safety measures over the past decade aimed at preventing crowd crushes, such as the stampede that took place in 2006, which killed 350 people. A building collapse the same year killed 76. Another stampede killed more than 200 in 2004.
Officials had limited numbers attending the Hajj after a peak in 2013, in which more than 3.1 million pilgrims arrived.
Bottlenecks in which crushes had occurred along the pilgrimage route were widened and religious authorities decreed that it was not mandatory for pilgrims to touch sacred spots.
Reconstruction work to enlarge the Grand Mosque has continued for the past two years and was expected to be largely completed before this year’s pilgrimage which begins on 22 September.
Updated
This is the location of the incident, at Mecca’s historic Grand Mosque, which is currently undergoing major improvement works to enlarge the space.
What we know so far: at least 52 killed as crane crashes into Grand Mosque in Mecca
- Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority announced on its Twitter account more than 50 people were killed when a crane crashed in Mecca’s Grand Mosque.
- More than 30 people have been injured, the authority said.
- Pictures have circulated on social media of bodies in the mosque’s central courtyard.
- Last year, the kingdom reduced the numbers permitted to perform hajj for safety reasons because of construction work to enlarge the Grand Mosque. The annual Muslim pilgrimage takes place later this month.
We’ll bring you more live updates as we confirm reports from Mecca.
Updated
