RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — At least 65 people were killed and scores were wounded Friday when a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense authority said.
The accident happened as pilgrims from around the world converged on the city, Islam’s holiest site, for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which takes place this month.
The civil defense authority announced the collapse and a series of rising casualty numbers on its official Twitter account. It said 154 people were wounded in the accident.
Videos and photos posted by social media users showed a grisly scene, with police and onlookers attending to multiple bloodied bodies on the polished mosque floors.
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 crane’s collapse during a heavy rainstorm, with a loud boom, screams and confusion.
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