Hajj crane disaster: Buhari directs ministry, embassy on safety of Nigerian pilgrims
…Commiserates with King Salman, Islamic community
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NIGERIA: PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the embassy in Saudi Arabia to swing into action by ensuring Nigerian pilgrims currently in the holy land are safe.
The directive came a day after the death of 107 persons coupled with over 200 that were injured in the crane collapse incident that occurred in Mecca on Friday during jumat service.
Buhari specifically ordered the duo “to closely monitor developments and take necessary action to ensure the security and well-being of all Nigerian pilgrims.”
The president, who commiserated with Saudi monarch, King Salman, his people and the Islamic ommunity worldwide, urged fellow Nigerians at home to continue to pray for the safety of their brothers and sisters on the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
“President Muhammadu Buhari commiserates with his Majesty, King Salman, the people of Saudi Arabia and the worldwide Islamic community over the tragic loss of lives in yesterday’s crane collapse at the Grand Mosque of Mecca,” the Senior Special Assistant to Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a release.
“President Buhari also urges all Nigerians to pray for the continued safety of their compatriots who are currently in Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj,” Shehu said, adding: “He prays that Almighty Allah will receive the souls of those killed in the incident and grant the injured speedy recovery.”
It would be recalled that tragedy hit the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Friday where no fewer than 107 worshipers died when a crane crashed into the Grand Mosque – reputed as the largest in the world.
The disaster was attributed to a strong wind of about 50 miles per hour and heavy rain, which brought down the red crane at exactly 14:23 Greenwich Mean Time at the period thousands of worshipers filled the arena for Jumat prayers.
The Director-General of the Saudi Civil Defence Authority, Lt. Sulayman Bin-Abdullah al-Amr, confirmed that the disaster was caused by the wind and heavy downpour.
Gatewaymail learnt that the huge equipment collapsed and hit the part of the mosque where large number of worshipers circled around the holy site of Kaaba – the site Muslims face to offer their prayers.
Majority of the victims, it was further gathered, were domestic Saudi pilgrims, but while the number of foreign worshipers could not be ascertained sources said 13 Egyptians may have lost their lives in the crash.
At the time of this report, the civil defence team continued to push out through the twitter the number of dead and injured persons, thus suggesting there are likely to be more casualties.
But civil defence boss said all the corpses of the victims and the injured persons had been taken to the hospital.
“All those who were wounded and the dead have been taken to hospital,” al-Amr said. “There are no casualties left at the location.”
Al-Amr said: “Strong wind and rains had uprooted trees and rocked cranes in the area.”
He added that investigation had commenced to determine the extent of damage and the safety of the holy sites.
Seven of the injured persons at the incident, regarded as the worst at the yearly pilgrimage after 340 pilgrims died in 1997 during a fire disaster at the Minna tent camp, were in critical conditions, the country’s Hajjy Minister, Iyad Madani, explained to journalists at post-mishap press conference.
Madani added: “All precautions were taken to prevent such an incident, but this is God’s will.”
A senior official of the Saudi General Security Forces, Brigadier Mansour al-Turki, attributed the death to “the mass of people on the bridge, and the state of panic that erupted after some of them fell.”
He futher stressed: “The trampling begins with a small number of people falling, followed by a state of panic and an attempt to escape the crowd, which leads (sic) to an increasing number of victims.”
The holy city has been on a yearly basis been playing host to millions of pilgrims all over the world who yearly invade Mecca and Medina to perform one of the Islamic requirements of pious Muslims – a visit to the holy sites, at least once.
