Iranian Death Toll in Crane Collapse in Mecca Rises to Five: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The number of Iranian nationals killed in the collapse of a crane in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, rose from one to five, the deputy head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization announced on Sunday.
“Immediately after the incident, we announced to the managers of all caravans to let us know if they have any missing (pilgrims),” Hamid Mohammadi told the Tasnim News Agency.
The data were collected and Iranian medical and relief teams were dispatched to search for the missing pilgrims in the Saudi hospitals, he said, adding that last night, four bodies of Iranian pilgrims were identified.
This is while, it had previously been announced that only one Iranian pilgrim had been killed in the tragic incident.
Seifollah Asadi-Mina from Iran’s western province of Hamedan was among the first killed pilgrims in the collapse of the crane into the Masjid al-Haram, the Iranian official said.
The names of four other Iranians killed in the incident include, Mohammad Majlesi from the northern province of Tehran, Vali Esmaeili from South Khorasan province, Mohammad Hashemzehi from Sistan and Balouchestan, and Alireza Ameri from northern province of Semnan.
Meantime, another official at Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization also announced that seven other pilgrims are still missing after the collapse of the crane.
On Friday evening, a large construction crane toppled over during a violent rainstorm in Mecca and crashed into the Masjid al-Haram, 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.
