A massive construction crane crashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque in stormy weather on Friday, killing at least 107 people and injuring 238, Saudi authorities said, days before the annual hajj pilgrimage.
The civil defence agency said on Twitter that emergency teams were sent to the scene after a "crane fell at the Grand Mosque," one of Islam's most revered sites.
That came about an hour after it tweeted that Mecca was "witnessing medium to heavy rains," and pictures on social media showed lightning.
Ahmed bin Mohammad al-Mansoori, spokesman for the two holy mosques, was quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying part of a crane collapsed at 5:10 pm (1410 GMT) "as a result of strong winds and heavy rains."
Abdel Aziz Naqoor, who said he works at the mosque, 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 holy Kaaba and broke the crane's fall.
The Kaaba is a massive cube-shaped structure at the centre of the mosque towards which Muslims worldwide pray and which has a major role in the hajj.
Pictures of the incident on Twitter showed bloodied bodies strewn across a courtyard where the top part of the crane, which appeared to have bent or snapped, had crashed into the building which is several storeys high.
A video on YouTube showed people screaming and rushing around right after a massive crash was heard and as fog engulfed the city.
The incident occurred as hundreds of thousands of Muslims from all over the world gather for the annual hajj pilgrimage expected to begin on September 21.
The Grand Mosque is usually at its most crowded on Fridays, the Muslim weekly day of prayer.
Many faithful would have been gathered there ahead of evening maghrib prayers, which occurred about an hour after the tragedy.
Pleas to donate blood
The governor of Mecca region, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has ordered an investigation into the incident and was heading to the mosque, the official @makkahregion page on Twitter said.
Irfan al-Alawi, co-founder of the Mecca-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, compared the carnage to that caused by a bomb.
He suggested authorities were negligent by having a series of cranes overlooking the mosque.
"They do not care about the heritage, and they do not care about health and safety," he told AFP.
Alawi is an outspoken critic of redevelopment at the holy sites, which he says is wiping away tangible links to the Prophet Mohammed.
Online activists created a hashtag on Twitter urging Mecca residents to donate blood at hospitals in the area.
No details were immediately available on the nationalities of the victims.
Iran's official IRNA news agency, quoting the head of the Hajj Organisation, said 15 Iranian pilgrims were among those injured.
Most of them were treated as outpatients, Saeid Ohadi said.
A massive project is underway to expand the area of the mosque by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet), allowing it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.
Though marred in the past by deadly incidents including floods, stampedes and fires, the hajj has become nearly incident-free in recent years because of multi-billion dollar investments.
These have included transport networks and other infrastructure to facilitate movement of the crowds.
SPA said that almost 800,000 pilgrims had arrived by Friday for the hajj, which all able-bodied Muslims are expected to perform if they have the means to do so.
Last year, just over two million people took part.
AFP
Fri Sep 11 2015
Pictures of the incident on Twitter showed bloodied bodies strewn across a courtyard where the top part of the crane, which appeared to have bent or snapped, had crashed into the building which is several storeys high.
Pertemuan bersama Hail di HKL detik terakhir - Salwa
Salwa berkata walaupun hadir pada bukan waktu melawat, beliau bersyukur urusan untuk melawat Hail telah dipermudah.
Doktor sedang kenal pasti jenis asid disimbah kepada Faisal
Hamidin berkata, doktor mahu melihat sejauh mana kekuatan asid itu.
Warga Israel tuntut kerajaan terima gencatan senjata
Penunjuk perasaan Israel, termasuk beberapa keluarga tebusan, turun ke jalan di Tel Aviv pada petang Isnin, menyeru kerajaan untuk menerima perjanjian untuk membebaskan tebusan yang ditahan oleh hamas sejak 7 Oktober tahu lalu.
Gesaan itu dibuat selepas Hamas menerima tawaran gencatan senjata.
Gesaan itu dibuat selepas Hamas menerima tawaran gencatan senjata.
Palestin minta AS campur tangan halang Israel takluk Rafah
Pihak berkuasa Palestin (PA) pada Isnin melakukan libat urus dengan pihak tertentu secara intensif untuk menghalang rancangan Israel menyerang Bandar Rafah di selatan Semenanjung Gaza.
Ia susulan Tentera Israel mengeluarkan arahan kepada warga Palestin di kawasan kejiranan timur Rafah supaya segera berpindah pada Isnin dan menggesa mereka bergerak ke pekan al-Mawasi di selatan Gaza.
Ia susulan Tentera Israel mengeluarkan arahan kepada warga Palestin di kawasan kejiranan timur Rafah supaya segera berpindah pada Isnin dan menggesa mereka bergerak ke pekan al-Mawasi di selatan Gaza.
Israel arah penduduk Gaza berpindah
Israel melakukan serangan udara di Rafah pada Isnin dan memberitahu rakyat Palestin supaya mengosongkan bahagian bandar di mana lebih daripada sejuta orang dipindahkan akibat perang yang berlangsung selama tujuh bulan.
Kesemua bandar tersebut dikatakan bergelumang dengan keadaan kotor sehingga menyumbang kepada penyebaran cirit-birit dan penyakit lain.
Kesemua bandar tersebut dikatakan bergelumang dengan keadaan kotor sehingga menyumbang kepada penyebaran cirit-birit dan penyakit lain.
Insiden hon ketika pengebumian: Kertas siasatan lengkap, tunggu bahagian perundangan
Kertas siasatan kes itu dihantar ke Bahagian Perundangan Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah negeri untuk penilaian sebelum tindakan lanjut.
Kekejaman zionis: Dunia perlu kuatkuasa undang-undang antarabangsa terhadap Israel
Negara-negara kuasa besar perlu menguatkuasakan sepenuhnya undang-undang antarabangsa sekiranya Israel tidak bersetuju dengan cadangan genjatan senjata terbaharu yang telah dipersetujui Pejuang Hamas, pada Isnin.
Hamas umum terima perjanjian gencatan senjata
Al-Jazeera melaporkan Hamas setuju terima pelan gencatan senjatan tiga fasa yang dikemukakan pasukan pengantara, Mesir dan Qatar.
Rundingan gencatan senjata disambung semula hari ini di Mesir
Rundingan berterusan dilakukan selepas Hamas menghantar maklum balas mengenai cadangan yang mungkin "boleh disifatkan sebagai positif."
Media main peranan sumber maklumat kerajaan kepada isu rakyat
Ketua Menteri Sabah, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor menggesa pengamal media mengamalkan sikap bertanggungjawab dan beretika dalam menyampaikan laporan.