This story was updated at 5:10 p.m. EST on Sept. 11,2015.
There have been few details released, but images show a part of a huge red crane has fallen through the roof of the mosque. The information on the accident was posted on the civil defense authority’s Twitter account, says the Huffington Post.
The director general of the civil defense authority, Soliman al-Amr is on the scene, along with his team. Al-Jazeera’s Hasan Patel, who is in Mecca, said the mosque was crowded as people gathered for start of the 6:30 pm prayer. Patel says the crane fell on the third floor of the Grand Mosque around 5:45 pm.
“Dozens of ambulances are heading to the site. The authorities closed off the area shortly afterwards,” he said, adding, “This whole place is already a construction site. What made it worse is that around 5.30pm there was severe rain and it’s just gushing down the road.”
There were reports that lightning may have struck the crane during the storm, but this may be speculation because Al Arabiya is reporting that high winds caused the collapse.
Reports on Twitter are saying a sandstorm caused the collapse, so it is wise to wait until an official cause of the accident is released. Videos published on YouTube show people running as they try to avoid the sand and wind.
The Huffington Post is reporting that the Indian consulate in Jeddah announced via Twitter that nine Indian pilgrims are believed to have been injured in the crane collapse.
Last year, a major expansion of the site was started due to ever increasing numbers of people making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. This year’s pilgrimage is expected to start in two weeks. The crane that collapsed was part of that construction work taking place at the Grand Mosque.
