Lightning, storm caused the tragedy?

Riyadh

Witnesses claim that the deadly crane crash at the Grand Mosque of Mecca yesterday amid high winds and thunderstorms could have been caused by the storm or lightning.

Dramatic footage shows the moment the crane toppled in heavy rain, with another video capturing the chaos and confusion inside the building as people run for cover after the impact.

Photos posted on social media shows the polished tiled floor of the mosque covered in rubble, bodies and pools of blood, and people fleeing the area bleeding and covered in soot.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are gathering at the holy site from all over the world for the annual hajj pilgrimage set to begin later this month.

A massive £14billion project is currently underway to increase the area of the mosque by 4.3million sq ft - so that it can accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

The crane that crashed belongs to a German crane company operated by the Bin Laden family's consortium, who are heading the expansion of the Holy Mosque.

Saudi BinLaden Group was founded by Osama's Bin Laden's billionaire father Mohammed and the sprawling construction conglomerate runs a large amount of major building contracts in the Kingdom.

Pictures taken before the disaster show the crane being struck by a bolt of lightning and authorities are in little doubt extreme weather was to blame.

The crane fell into the east side of the mosque, with the top section of the structure crashing into the roof.

Earlier, the Civil Defense had issued thunderstorm, heavy rain and wind warnings in the area and authorities say search and rescue teams and medical workers from the Saudi Red Crescent are now at the scene.