Guardian Unlimited Travel | News | Hotel collapse in Mecca leaves at least 18 pilgrims dead

Posted on January 7th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Guardian Unlimited Travel | News | Hotel collapse in Mecca leaves at least 18 pilgrims dead

Tragedy struck the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca yesterday when a building collapsed just a few yards from the Grand Mosque, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens more.

Rescue workers, using cranes and bare hands, sifted through the remains of the building, which had a grocery store and restaurant on the ground floor and several floors above which were being used as a hostel for pilgrims.

It was unclear how many people had been inside at the time and a statement from the Saudi interior ministry said the eventual death toll could reach 20, though other reports put the figure much higher.

The victims were said to include Arabs from Egypt, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, together with Indonesians.

Latest news is that there seems to be one Dutch (not clear which ethnicity) among the victims: 65-year old Maimoun Kischouhi. He did not stay in that hotel but in a hotel nearby and got killed when he passed the collapsing hotel.

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