Officials: Haj pilgrimage will go on despite crane collapse

Unfortunate incident: Mecca’s Grand Mosque was damaged after a massive construction crane crashed into it in stormy weather, killing more than a hundred people, less than a fortnight before the haj pilgrimage starts. — AFP

MECCA: Saudi authorities said the annual haj pilgrimage will go ahead despite a crane collapse that killed 107 people at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, where crowds returned to pray a day after the disaster.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have already arrived in Mecca for the haj, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings which last year drew two million worshippers.