Mecca crane collapse: 87 dead in Saudi Arabia

By BBC News

At least 87 people died and more than 180 people were injured when a crane collapsed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The huge red crane crashed into a part of the Grand Mosque - the largest in the world - that was filled with worshippers at the time.

The head of Saudi Arabia's civil defence said strong winds and heavy rains had caused the collapse.

Mecca is currently preparing for the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to arrive in the Saudi city from all over the world later this month.

The collapse happened at 17:23 local time (15:23 GMT), said Director-General of the Saudi Civil Defence, Lt Sulayman Bin-Abdullah al-Amr.

It happened at a time when many worshippers were there for Friday prayers.

Shortly before the crash, the city had been hit by unusually high levels of rainfall and winds of up to 83kph, Mr Amr said.

A video posted on YouTube, which could not be independently verified, appeared to record the moment the crane fell, with a loud crash heard in the background followed by panic and shouting.

Images circulating on Twitter showed what looked like numerous bodies and blood on the floor of the mosque.

Mr Amr said an investigation was being carried out to assess the extent of the damage, and the "extent of the safety of these sites".