Mecca crane collapse
Masjid al-Haram with cranes similar to the one involved in the accident | |
| Date | 11 September 2015 |
|---|---|
| Time | ~17:10 AST |
| Location | Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 21°25′21″N 39°49′34″E / 21.4225°N 39.8262°E |
| Cause | Crane collapse |
| Deaths | 111 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 394 |
A crawler crane collapsed over the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, around 5:10 p.m. on 11 September 2015, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others. The city was preparing for the Hajj pilgrimage. The collapse has been cited as the deadliest crane collapse in history, with the previous most deadly incident being the collapse of a construction crane in New York City in 2008, killing seven people.
Following the collapses, the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, ordered a halt to the awarding of contracts to the Saudi Binladin Group, the primary contractor of construction works in the holy city. The incident was found to have resulted from a combination of human error and forceful winds.
DW News cited that in August 2016, Saudi Gazette reported the trial of 14 individuals, with Okaz adding that prosecutors did not file charges against 42 others who were under investigation, including 16 members of the Bin Laden family. Victims of the collapse were of twelve different nationalities, with the greatest contingents of deaths being 25 Bangladeshis and 23 Egyptians. Of the injured, the most represented nationalities were 51 Pakistanis and 42 Indonesians.