Monday, June 29, 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

    From Cradle To Grave: New Brunswick Sees More Deaths Than Births For First Time

    From Cradle To Grave: New Brunswick Sees More Deaths Than Births For First Time
    FREDERICTON — Coles Island School in New Brunswick has taught children for 58 years but this may be its last. Over time, enrolment has dwindled to a point where the school now teaches 30 students from kindergarten to Grade 5. 

    From Cradle To Grave: New Brunswick Sees More Deaths Than Births For First Time

    Tories To Tackle Thorny Issue Of Lump Sum Payments To Wounded Veterans: Sources

    Tories To Tackle Thorny Issue Of Lump Sum Payments To Wounded Veterans: Sources
    OTTAWA — The system of awards for the pain and suffering of the country's most severely wounded soldiers is about to be overhauled as the Harper government attempts to defuse a volatile issue within the angry veterans community.

    Tories To Tackle Thorny Issue Of Lump Sum Payments To Wounded Veterans: Sources

    Avoiding Syrian Air Defences A Concern As Commons Set To Approve War Expansion

    Avoiding Syrian Air Defences A Concern As Commons Set To Approve War Expansion
    OTTAWA — How to avoid missile batteries and navigate defensive radar systems in Syria are among the issues preoccupying military planners as Parliament debates the merits of expanding and extending Canada's Middle East mission.

    Avoiding Syrian Air Defences A Concern As Commons Set To Approve War Expansion

    Vancouver Shares Olympic Lessons With Toronto Ahead Of Pan Am Games

    Vancouver Shares Olympic Lessons With Toronto Ahead Of Pan Am Games
    TORONTO — In their effort to fight congestion during this summer's Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, organizers in Ontario are taking cues from those who have been there, done that.

    Vancouver Shares Olympic Lessons With Toronto Ahead Of Pan Am Games

    Ken Dryden Teaches Class Of The Future To Five Universities Simultaneously

    Ken Dryden Teaches Class Of The Future To Five Universities Simultaneously
    Ken Dryden sits in a classroom at McGill University in Montreal ready to talk to students about the future. His face beams into four other classrooms across the country.

    Ken Dryden Teaches Class Of The Future To Five Universities Simultaneously

    Burnaby RCMP Shoot, Kill Man After Responding To Double-stabbing Incident

    Burnaby RCMP Shoot, Kill Man After Responding To Double-stabbing Incident
    Burnaby RCMP say they responded to reports of a double stabbing (on the 6100 block of 14th Avenue) shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday.

    Burnaby RCMP Shoot, Kill Man After Responding To Double-stabbing Incident