Saudi crane crash toll now 111, king visits victims

Riyad: The toll in a crane crash at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Makkah rose to 111 on Sunday, media reports said as Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited the victims.

The incident also left 331 others injured.

Saudi authorities said the results of investigations into the deadly incident will be referred to the king, Xinhua reported citing Sabq Online.

The incident took place on Friday amid unstable weather and high winds in the holy city.

No information was revealed about the reason behind the collapse of the huge crane.

Makkah Governor Prince Khalid al-Faisal “has submitted today (Sunday) the results of the investigation” to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef for presentation to King Salman, state-run Saudi Press Agency said.

The investigative committee was headed by Hesham al-Faleh, an adviser to Prince Khalid.

King Salman visited the victims of the deadly crane collapse, al-Arabiya reported.

The Haj pilgrimage, which starts next week, will proceed unaffected by the incident, Saudi officials said.

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

—IANS