Fifteen people were killed when a hotel in Islam's holiest city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, collapsed as millions of Muslims arrived for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia's civil defense director told CNN.
Another 39 were injured in Thursday's collapse of the building, which is near the Grand Mosque in the center of Mecca, in western Saudi Arabia.
Four of those killed were citizens of the United Arab Emirates, UAE's state-run media WAM reported.
"The four UAE nationals were killed while passing in front of the six-story building occupied by Asian pilgrims when it fell down," said Mohammed bin Nakhira al-Dhahiri, UAE's minister of justice, Islamic affairs and religion, WAM reported.
Rescue workers told CNN that several teams were working to remove the concrete to reach survivors.
The Associated Press reported that rescue teams were pulling bodies from beneath the wreckage. Security officials said most of the victims were Arabs from Egypt, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, AP reported.
The Prophet Mohammed was born in Mecca. The Grand Mosque is central to the Muslim faith and the Hajj.
Millions of Muslims are expected to arrive in Mecca for the Hajj, which begins Sunday.
The gathering has been marred by tragedies in recent years.
The worst happened in 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death.
More recently, 251 pilgrims died two years ago in a stampede during a stone-throwing ritual that has been the trigger for previous deadly tramplings.
A stampede In 2003 killed 36 pilgrims, most of them en route to the devil stoning ritual. In 2001, a stampede at the same ritual killed 35.
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks