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Pilgrims killed in Mecca building collapse

MECCA (Saudi Arabia): At least 15 pilgrims were killed on Thursday and 39 injured when a building near the Grand Mosque collapsed on them just after they returned from midday prayers, the Interior Ministry said. The tragedy in Islam's holiest city came as millions of Muslims converged for the annual hajj pilgrimage, which begins on Sunday. A statement from the Interior Ministry, quoting Maj. Gen. Saad al-Tweijery, head of Mecca's civil defence team, said the death toll could reach 20 and the number of wounded could number more than 80. A civil defence official told government-run Al-Ekhbariya television that the 40-year-old building's foundations were cracked and too weak to support the weight. At the scene, Brig. Khaled Zahouni of the Interior Ministry, said 49 wounded had been pulled from the rubble of the eight-story Lulu'at al-Khair, a multipurpose building about 60 yards from the Grand Mosque that had a grocery store and a restaurant on the ground floor and was rented out as a hostel during pilgrimages. The building is surrounded by local markets that stay open 24 hours during the pilgrimage. Most of the victims were Arabs from Egypt, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media. — AP

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