A crawler crane collapsed over the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, around 5:10 p.m. on 11 September 2015, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others. The city was preparing for the Hajj pilgrimage. The accident has been cited as the deadliest crane collapse in history, with the previous most deadly incident being the collapse of a construction crane in New York City in 2008, killing seven people.Following the accidents, the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, ordered a halt to the awarding of contracts to the Saudi Binladin Group, the primary contractor of construction works in the holy city. The incident was found to have resulted from a combination of human error and forceful winds.
DW News cited that in August 2016, Saudi Gazette reported the trial of 14 individuals, with Okaz adding that prosecutors did not file charges against 42 others who were under investigation, including 16 members of the Bin Laden family. Victims of the accident were of twelve different nationalities, with the greatest contingents of deaths being 25 Bangladeshis and 23 Egyptians. Of the injured, the most represented nationalities were 51 Pakistanis and 42 Indonesians.
2015Sep, 11
A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.
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Events on 2015
- 29Apr
2015 Baltimore protests
A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox sets the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero fans were in attendance for the game, as the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests. - 3May
Charlie Hebdo shooting
Two gunmen launch an attempted attack on an anti-Islam event in Garland, Texas, which was held in response to the Charlie Hebdo shooting. - 14Jul
New Horizons
NASA's New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System. - 20Jul
Cuba-United States relations
The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades. - 14Aug
Cuba-United States relations
The US Embassy in Havana, Cuba re-opens after 54 years of being closed when Cuba-United States relations were broken off.