Thursday, June 25, 2026
ADVT 
National

Over 65 Killed As Crane Falls On Mecca's Grand Mosque

Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Sep, 2015 10:38 AM
    Over 65 people were killed after a crane collapsed on to the Grand Mosque in the Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah, which is preparing for the Annual Haj.
     
    At least 65 people have been killed and at least 30 injured, reported the BBC, citing the Saudi civil defence authority.
     
     
     
     
    It was raining heavily at the time. Few other details are available. Images from the scene showed part of a huge red crane had crashed through the roof of the mosque.Mecca is preparing for the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage.
     
    Construction work has been going on at the Grand Mosque for years to make it big enough to cope with the huge numbers of people who come each year.
     
     
    The incident occurred as hundreds of thousands of Muslims gather from all over the world for the annual hajj pilgrimage set to begin later this month, and Saudi authorities go to great lengths to be prepared for the millions of Muslims who converge on Makkah.
     
    The Grand Mosque is usually at its most crowded on Fridays, the Muslim weekly day of prayer.
     
     
     
     
    Last year, the kingdom reduced the numbers permitted to perform haj for safety reasons because of construction work to enlarge the Grand Mosque.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Another Drive-By Shooting In Surrey As Police Warn Of Turf War

    Another Drive-By Shooting In Surrey As Police Warn Of Turf War
    Police are investigating another shooting in Surrey, B.C., a day after investigators revealed that gang rivalry is involved in a number of similar incidents. Surrey RCMP received several calls at about 1 a.m. Wednesday from witnesses who heard gunshots.

    Another Drive-By Shooting In Surrey As Police Warn Of Turf War

    Modi's Canadian Visit Kicks Off With Deal To Buy Tonnes Of Saskatchewan Uranium

    Modi's Canadian Visit Kicks Off With Deal To Buy Tonnes Of Saskatchewan Uranium
    OTTAWA — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the first full day of his visit to Canada by signing a deal to buy more than 3,000 tonnes of Saskatchewan uranium over the next five years to fuel his country's power reactors.

    Modi's Canadian Visit Kicks Off With Deal To Buy Tonnes Of Saskatchewan Uranium

    India's Parrot Lady To Fly Back Home From Canada

    India's Parrot Lady To Fly Back Home From Canada
    India's Parrot Lady' is to return home, after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday handed over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi the 800-year-old Indian sandstone sculpture of a woman holding a parrot.

    India's Parrot Lady To Fly Back Home From Canada

    Canada's Indian Community To Give Rock Star Welcome To Modi

    Canada's Indian Community To Give Rock Star Welcome To Modi
    Modi was welcomed by Canadian Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Indian High Commissioner Vishnu Prakash and a large number of Indo-Canadian leaders on his arrival at Ottawa airport from Germany.

    Canada's Indian Community To Give Rock Star Welcome To Modi

    Langley Man Given Prison Time After Attack, Fire Involving Estranged Wife

    Langley Man Given Prison Time After Attack, Fire Involving Estranged Wife
    LANGLEY, B.C. — A man who attacked his estranged wife and her teenage daughter before setting their Langley, B.C., home on fire has been sentenced to a decade behind bars.

    Langley Man Given Prison Time After Attack, Fire Involving Estranged Wife

    Agency Apologizes To 39 Patients After Employee Snoops In Private Health Records

    Agency Apologizes To 39 Patients After Employee Snoops In Private Health Records
    VICTORIA — The health authority on Vancouver Island says an employee who had nothing to do with the care of 39 patients accessed their health records out of curiosity about friends or neighbours.

    Agency Apologizes To 39 Patients After Employee Snoops In Private Health Records