Bodies of Iranians Killed in Mecca Crane Collapse to Be Returned Home Tomorrow
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi said on Wednesday that the bodies of the Iranian pilgrims killed in the collapse of a crane in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, will be returned to Iran Thursday.
Tomorrow night, the last flight carrying Iranian pilgrims will arrive in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, Ohadi told the Tasnim News Agency, adding that the bodies of the Iranians who were killed in the incident in Masjid al-Haram will be returned home by the same plane.
“Currently, the status of the injured and the dead is clear and we have no missing person anymore,” he noted.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamid Mohammadi, the deputy head of the organization, told Tasnim that with the three missing Hajj pilgrims confirmed dead, the number of Iranian pilgrims who lost their lives reached 11.
On Friday evening, a large construction crane toppled over during a violent rainstorm in Mecca and crashed into 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.