One of the 107 victims killed when a crane collapsed on the Great Mosque of Mecca (western Saudi Arabia) on Friday, was Belgian, revealed VRT (Flemish public broadcaster) on Sunday evening. The office of the Foreign Secretary confirmed the news.
The Foreign Office was told by the family of the victim that he was a Belgian national, pointed out Michael Mareel, Foreign Office spokesperson. He could not confirm whether there was a second Belgian victim.
A few days before the great pilgrimage which brings hundreds of thousands of worshippers from around the world to Mecca, a crane fell on the Great Mosque during a raging storm on Friday. The site is one of the holiest in Islam. An official count listed at least 107 people killed and 238 wounded.
On Saturday Saudi authorities announced that the annual pilgrimage would take place as scheduled in spite of the disaster.
(Source: Belga)
