MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup has confirmed that 2 Indians were killed and 19 were injured in the accident in Mecca.
A towering construction crane collapsed on Friday during a violent rainstorm in Saudi Arabia’s city of Mecca, Islam’s holiest site.
Saudi officials have said that at least 107 were killed and 238 people have been injured after the crane crashed into the Grand Mosque. The incident took place just ahead of the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage later this month.
Videos and photos posted by social media users showed a grisly scene, with police and onlookers attending to bloodied bodies on the polished mosque floors.
Authorities did not provide details on the victims’ nationalities, but it was likely that the tragedy will touch several countries.
The Grand Mosque and the cube-shaped Kaaba within it draw Muslims of all types from around the world throughout the year, though numbers increase significantly in the run-up to the hajj.
Other Saudi officials could not immediately be reached or referred queries to the civil defense statements.
Several cranes surround the mosque to support an ongoing expansion and other construction work that has transformed the area around the sanctuary.
The pilgrimage of Mecca, however, will not be hampered due to the accident.
I want to make it clear that despite the accident, the Hajj pilgrimage continues as scheduled. There will be no breakdown of the pilgrimage as a result of this unfortunate incident. In fact, the circumvolution of the Kaaba has also resumed.
— Vikas Swarup, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs
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