40 to stand trial for Makkah crane crash

About 40 suspects will stand trial in Jeddah for their involvement in the crane crash incident in the Grand Mosque in September, local daily Al Watan reported on Monday.

According to the report, 30 suspects were directors, technicians and project leaders carrying out the expansion work at the mosque and the other 10 suspects were from the public sector.

An investigative commission had concluded that the company "was in part responsible" for the tragedy, which killed at least 107 people and injured almost 400 during a severe thunderstorm accompanied by violent winds.

The company had not "respected the norms of safety" at the site, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The firm's executives have been forbidden from leaving the kingdom pending the completion of legal action against the company, SPA said.

During the same period, the company will also be excluded from new public projects.

The construction firm had been working for four years on a 400,000-square-metre (4.3-million-square-feet) enlargement of the Grand Mosque, to accommodate increasing numbers of pilgrims.

That is the equivalent of more than 50 football pitches, and will allow the complex to accommodate roughly two million people at once.

1 million Riyals compensation

King Salman had ordered 1 million Saudi Riyals (Dh0.98m) compensation for injured with permanent disability, and half a million riyal compensation for those injured in Haram accident, English daily Saudi Gazette reported.

Families of the crane collapse victims will also receive one million riyals compensation, the Saudi royal court said.