Makkah governor orders probe into crane collapse that left 107 dead

Makkah governor Prince Khaled Al Faisal has called for the formation of a committee to investigate a recent crane accident that left 107 people dead and over 200 others injured  at Masjid al-Haram, just ten days ahead of the Holy city’s busiest Hajj season. 

He ordered that the site be restored and up and running within a two-day deadline.

Powerful winds and a harsh sandstorm that has been recently ravaging the Middle East region were said to be the causes behind the huge collapse on Friday afternoon— a holy day in which many Muslims flock to the mosques for prayer.

Bin Laden Group, the main contractor of the mosque’s expansion project, had stopped all work at the site since Thursday, Sept. 13— reportedly due to bad weather— just a day before the accident.

On Friday, civil defense ambulances whisked the wounded to area hospitals while reporting rising causalities on Twitter .

During Hajj, the city usually sees around two million visitors every year who flock to the grand mosque for their holy pilgrimage.