1m Riyals compensation for Makkah crane crash victims

A statement by the Saudi government on Tuesday said the company’s operations had been stopped until a review of all their work had been completed.

An official investigation into the incident said there was no criminal suspicion, with strong winds blamed for the crane coming crashing to the ground at the Grand Mosque.

King Salman also ordered that the group’s board members and senior executives be barred from travel overseas after an investigation into last week’s incident showed the crane was not erected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Workers stand next to a crane that collapsed at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy Muslim city of Mecca, September 12, 2015. The construction firm is owned by the family of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

When the accident occurred, the mosque was teeming with hundreds of worshippers performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Mir-Moradzehi further elaborated that if Islamic countries within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) assume responsibility of handling the Hajj ceremony, much better results will be yielded, said the Fars News Agency.

Masjid al-Haram is the world’s largest mosque and houses the Kaaba, the black cube that Muslims around the world pray toward and which they walk around during the pilgrimage. Others injured will receive half that amount.

Saudi Arabia has announced to grant 300,000 riyals each to families of martyrs who were killed in Makkah crane accident that killed 111 people.

That is the equivalent of more than 50 football pitches, and will allow the complex – Islam’s holiest site – to accommodate roughly two million people at once.

Over the years, pilgrims in Saudi Arabia have lost their lives due to stampedes and fires.