The taxi driver, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, had been in the Grand Mosque with his parents when the crane struck the mosque which is Islam’s holiest site.
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At least 11 Pakistanis have been confirmed dead in the crane accident in Makkah’s Grand Mosque on Friday, which had resulted in the deaths of at least 107 pilgrims, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday.
“He was on hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with his parents, Mr and Mrs Mohammad Akram”.
Bolton MP Yasmin Qureshi tweeted: “Saddened to hear that a young man from #Bolton was amongst those killed in tragic Saudi crane collapse“.
“It definitely will not affect the hajj this season, and the affected part will probably be fixed in a few days”, said the official, who declined to be named.
Abdel Aziz Naqoor, who said he works at the mosque, told AFP he saw the massive construction crane fall during the storm.
Photos sent by Twitter from the scene show numerous blood-covered bodies strewn on a marble floor under the arm of a large crane.
It posted images of the damage caused to the Grand Mosque, which contains the cube-shaped Kaaba building that is central to Islamic prayer and Hajj rituals.
Saudis and foreigners lined up in the street to give blood in response to the tragedy. “They found out last night and the authorities identified him”.
Makkah: The collapsing of the construction crane at Masjid al-Haram in Makkah was not due to a technical fault but was “an act of God”, according to an engineer for the developer.
The Makkah Mayoralty has mobilized all its human resources and equipment to remove the debris and hazards caused by the rainfall.
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“We need to accept what happened”, he said, calling at the same time for a thorough investigation. Several other countries and the leaders from the world have also expressed their condolences on the sad demise. Though marred in the past by deadly incidents including floods, stampedes and fires, the Haj has become almost incident-free in recent years because of multi-billion dollar projects.
