Probe report filed on Saudi crane tragedy

Prince Khaled al-Faisal sent the findings to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef for presentation to King Salman


Afp September 13, 2015
A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on September 12, 2015 and taken late the day before shows the base of a crane that collapsed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. PHOTO: AFP

MAKKAH: Two days after a crane collapse killed 107 people at Makkah's Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia, the region's governor on Sunday filed an investigative report, official media said.

Prince Khaled al-Faisal "has submitted today the results of the investigation", the Saudi Press Agency said.

Faisal sent the findings to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef for presentation to King Salman, it said, without disclosing any contents.

Salman vowed Saturday to reveal what caused the crane to topple into a courtyard of the Grand Mosque, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims have converged ahead of the hajj later this month.

"We will investigate all the reasons and afterwards declare the results to the citizens," Salman said after visiting the site.

Read: Six Pakistani pilgrims among dead in Grand Mosque crane accident

Prince Faisal ordered a probe as soon as the tragedy struck.

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on September 12, 2015 shows Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (C) listening to Makkah Governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal (2nd L) during a tour of the site where a crane fell inside the Grand Mosque. PHOTO: AFP

The investigative committee was headed by Hesham al-Faleh, an adviser to Prince Khaled, who was under orders to submit the findings urgently.

Nationalities of most of those killed have still not been revealed but they included Pakistanis, Indians, Indonesians and a Thai.

Among the 238 injured were Iranians, Turks, Afghans, Egyptians and Pakistanis.

The crane which collapsed during a thunderstorm with extremely high winds was one of several working on a multi-billion-dollar expansion of the mosque to accommodate mounting numbers of faithful.

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