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The winch crane following the incident. Image Credit: Sabq

 

Only driver slightly injured as incident occurred in construction area

 

Manama: A winch crane toppled over onto a construction area in the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

The crane operator was injured in the incident that occurred late afternoon on Sunday in an isolated area near Gate 160 in the third expansion area, the general presidency for the Masjid Haram in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina said.

There were no worshippers or anyone performing prayers in the incident area.

The crane toppled over due to it being overloaded, the presidency added in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

During Ramadan, the most sacred month for Muslims, the Grand Mosque in Makkah is among the most crowded areas in the world with tens of thousands of Muslims performing Umrah or praying there.

In September 2015, close to 400 were killed after a crane collapsed on the Grand Mosque.