A crane collapsed onto pilgrims at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, killing at least 65 people.  This news has been confirmed by Saudi Civil Defense, who said that a tower crane working outside the Masjid collapsed due to strong winds created by a powerful storm.

Heavy rains and storm has engulfed the Holy city today and residents as well as pilgrims who have arrived at the Holy city for the Annual Hajj pilgrimage are in chaos.  Around 160+ pilgrims have been injured as per latest news reports from Reuters (Dubai) and BBC.  This accident has occurred a few weeks before the Hajj pilgrimage starts.

Unconfirmed though, witnesses told that the crane fell on the third floor above Al-Safa and Al-Marwah at 5:45 pm local time.  Many pilgrims are stuck under the debris too.

To add to the woes, tens of Indian passengers travelling through the Hajj Committee have yet to receive their baggage, which apparently seems to have been misplaced.  All luggage containing clothes, money, eatables, etc is lost in transit and as per latest reports received from the pilgrims, the rain storms and the crane crash incident has added to their problems as coordination has decreased tremendously and resident authorities are having a tough time in dealing with the situation.

Lets pray for the safety of the residents of Mecca and the Pilgrims.