OIC, ISESCO Condole Loss of Lives in Makkah Crane Collapse

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of dozens of Hajj pilgrims in the collapse of a crane in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

In separate messages on Sunday, OIC Secretary General Iyad Madani and ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Altwaijri, extended condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the recovery of those injured in the incident, the OIC’s website reported.

On Friday evening, a large construction crane toppled over during a violent rainstorm in Makkah and crashed into the Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque), killing at least 107 pilgrims and wounding 238 others.

The incident has raised fears about the safety of the site before the yearly hajj pilgrimage that is expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors to Saudi Arabia this month.

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.

The Saudi government is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar project to enlarge the mosque, and the site is currently ringed with cranes.

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