No fatalities in new Makkah crane accident

MAKKAH: Part of a mobile crane being used for construction work at the Grand Mosque in Makkah toppled to the ground on Sunday.
The driver of the crane was slightly injured in the incident, but no one else was hurt.

The Makkah Governorate said the area of the Grand Mosque where the crane collapsed was not dedicated for prayer, and was far from visitors and worshippers.

“An arm of a mobile crane has fallen in a work area in the Grand Mosque, and the necessary measures are being taken. The site is dedicated to work not to prayer, and away from the path of visitors and pilgrims. The driver of the crane has been slightly injured,” the governorate said. Spending boost The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques explained in a statement that “at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, a small, overloaded crane’s arm deviated from its track and collapsed in an isolated work area near Gate 160 at the third Saudi expansion project of the Grand Mosque.”

Saudis on social media dismissed the significance of the incident and called on others to refrain from spreading exaggerated rumors.

“A crane’s arm fell and people are making a big deal out of it! The country is spending billions  on projects for the Grand Mosque and you are spreading news about such a minor incident,” said one Twitter user (@Drtogomori).
At least 107 people were killed and about 400 injured on Sept. 11, 2015, when a crane toppled over near the Grand Mosque in Makkah amid stormy weather, just days before Hajj.