Carnage in Mecca: At least 107 people killed and 238 injured after Bin Laden firm crane collapses on Grand Mosque during freak lightning storm
- Upsetting pictures on show bodies strewn across floor after crane's boom crashed straight through the ceiling
- Accident struck while millions of Muslims are in the holy city for annual hajj pilgrimage which starts later this month
- Authorities had issued extreme weather warnings and earlier photos capture mosque being struck by lightning
- Crane part of massive project to increase the area of the mosque so it can accommodate 2.2million people at once
At
least 107 people were killed and 238 injured when a crane crashed
through the ceiling of the Grand Mosque of Mecca amid high winds and
thunderstorms today.
Dramatic
footage shows the moment the crane toppled in heavy rain, with another
video capturing the chaos and confusion inside the building as people
ran for cover after the devastating impact.
Photos
posted on social media sees the polished tiled floor of the mosque
covered in rubble, bodies and pools of blood, and people fleeing the
area bleeding and covered in soot.
The
tragic incident in Saudi Arabia occurred shortly before the 6:30pm
Friday evening prayer session - one of the busiest times of the week -
causing devastation to what is the largest mosque in the world.
Scroll down for video
Thunderstorms: A picture captures the
moment the fatal crane was struck by lightning prior to collapsing into
the mosque, killing dozens
Gaping hole: The collapsed crane has caused a huge crater in the floor of the Great Mosque, which was undergoing an expansion
The
crane fell into the east side of the mosque, with its boom crashing
through the roof, killing at least 107 people - with nine Indian
citizens, 16 Pakistanis and 15 Iranians reportedly among the dead.
The
governor of Mecca region, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has ordered an
investigation into the incident and was seen talking with police at the
mosque a few hours after the tragedy.
Online activists created a hashtag on Twitter urging Mecca residents to donate blood at hospitals in the area.
The
crane belongs to a German crane company operated by the Bin Laden
family's consortium, who are heading the expansion of the Holy Mosque.
Saudi
BinLaden Group was founded by Osama's Bin Laden's billionaire father
Mohammed and the sprawling construction conglomerate runs a large amount
of major building contracts in the Sunni kingdom.
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Hundreds
of thousands of Muslims are gathering at the holy site from all over
the world for the annual hajj pilgrimage set to begin later this month.
A
massive £14billion project is currently underway to increase the area
of the mosque by 4.3million sq ft - so that it can accommodate up to 2.2
million people at once.
Pictures
taken before the disaster show the crane being struck by a bolt of
lightning and authorities are in little doubt extreme weather was to
blame.
Earlier,
the Civil Defense had issued thunderstorm, heavy rain and wind warnings
in the area. Following the collapse, hundreds of rescue medical
workers rushed to the scene and were pictured stretchering bodies away,
while many walking wounded stumbled out of the building.
'All
those who were wounded and the dead have been taken to hospital. There
are no casualties left at the location,' General Suleiman al-Amr,
director general of the Civil Defence Authority, told al-Ikhbariya
television.
Strong wind and rains had uprooted trees and rocked cranes in the area, he said.
The Prime Minister has offered his 'thoughts and prayers' to the families of those killed.
Tweeting from his Number 10 office account: 'My thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones at Mecca today.'
And
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: ' I'm shocked and saddened to
hear of the accident in Mecca involving a large number of fatalities
amongst those attending the Hajj. My thoughts are with the families of
those affected.'
The Grand Mosque, or Great Mosque of Mecca, surrounds Islam's holiest place, the Kaaba, in the city of Mecca.
The
mosque is usually at its most crowded on Fridays as it is the Muslim
weekly day of prayer, when Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba
while performing their obligatory daily prayers.
One of the five pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
Muslim
faithful from about 160 countries converge on the Islamic city and
other locations in western Saudi Arabia to complete the holy journey.
The
pilgrimage, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, has
been prone to disasters in the past, mainly from stampedes as pilgrims
rushed to complete rituals and return home. Hundreds of pilgrims died in
such a stampede in 2006.
Saudi
authorities have since lavished vast sums to expand the main haj sites
and improve Mecca's transportation system, in an effort to prevent more
disasters.
Disaster: The Grand Mosque is usually at its most crowded on Fridays, the Muslim weekly day of prayer
Heavy death toll: At least 107 people were killed and more than 150 were injured in today's accident in Saudi Arabia's holy city
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