Sunday 22 December 2024

14 August 2023

13 Individuals to Appear in Court over Last Year’s Crane Collapse in Hajj

13 People will go on trial next week over a crane collapse in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that killed more than 100 pilgrims and injured 238 people days before the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage last year.


Three judges at Mecca’s criminal court will hear the defendants’ testimonies, informed sources said.

Preliminary investigations into the case have concluded and the case has been referred to the criminal court, they said.

Saudi Arabia had earlier said that a number of engineers and two local officials would stand trial over the case.

On September 11, 2015, a massive construction crane collapsed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing 111 pilgrims, including 11 Iranians, and leaving over 200 others wounded.

Saudi Arabia has been increasingly under criticism for its failure to ensure the safety of Hajj pilgrims.

Less than two weeks after the collapse of the crane, thousands of pilgrims died on September 24, 2015, in a crush in Mina, near Mecca, during the Hajj pilgrimage.

The incident marked the worst ever Hajj-related tragedy.