Makkah crane crash report submitted

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud will receive the final report on the investigation into the crane crash tragedy at the Grand Mosque that occurred on Friday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The report was referred to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, deputy premier and minister of interior, by Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal on Sunday.

Makkah’s Emir Prince Khaled received the report from the committee at his Jeddah office.

The committee is headed by Dr. Hisham Al-Faleh, adviser to the Emir of Makkah, and started its work immediately on Friday following the incident.

King Salman, who inspected the accident site at the Grand Mosque and visited the injured at a hospital on Saturday evening, said the cause of the crane collapse will be determined.

“We will investigate all the reasons and afterwards declare the results to the citizens,” King Salman said, expressing his condolences to the families of the dead.

It is believed the crane collapsed in the mosque as a result of high winds killing 107 people and wounding scores others, although an official explanation will be determined once the report’s official findings are made public.

Meanwhile, Saudi officials have confirmed the Hajj pilgrimage, which starts next week, will proceed unaffected by the incident.

Al Arabiya News examined initial reports on casualties, which suggest those killed were 15 Pakistanis, 23 Egyptians, 10 Indians, 25 Iranian, six Malaysians, 25 Bangladeshis, one Algerian and one Afghan.

[With the Saudi Gazette]