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Rabat – At least 40 people have been identified as suspects involved in the incident in which a massive crane that collapsed atop the Grand Mosque in Mecca last September 11, killing 111 people and injuring over 238 others.
Saudi authorities and the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) in Mecca opened a case following the deadly crane crash, in which it was reported that strong winds and heavy rainfall caused its collapse.
According to a press report cited by Arab News website on Tuesday, the BIP has found at least 40 people guilty of involvement in the fatal accident. The suspects will be facing charges for negligence before three courts in Jeddah.
The case has been transferred from Riyadh to Mecca this week. The list of suspects is far from complete as the prosecutor will reportedly add more names to the case next week.
According to the same source, the 40 identified suspects include 10 Saudi government officials and 30 employees from Saudi Binladen Group – the construction company in charge of the infrastructure expansion project at the Grand Mosque.
BIP investigators have interrogated the construction company’s directors, engineers and technicians and concluded that the crane’s position when it collapsed was unsafe, according to the Saudi Gazette.
The names of the suspects from Saudi Binladen Group were reportedly released by the BIP to the public prosecutor’s office in Riyadh.
International safety experts, the Civil Defense and the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) worked together to obtain information from surveillance cameras and reports from the site.
In addition to negligence charges, the defendants may face discretionary verdicts and compensation payouts to the victims’ families, the same source said.
The Summary Court will study the criminal charges against the suspects, the General Court will handle the “diyyah” (blood money) and compensations, while the Administrative Court will rule in regards to any contract violations between Saudi Binladen and the Saudi government.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has reviewed the investigative report by the BIP and ordered the payouts to the victims’ families as well as those who suffered serious injuries and became permanently disabled, the same source noted.
