MAKKAH — The giant Liebherr crane, which collapsed in the Grand Mosque last Friday killing 111 pilgrims and injuring 331 others, has been removed from the Haram. “This crane will never again be part of the expansion projects of the Grand Mosque,” Makkah Arabic daily said on Wednesday quoting a Haram engineering source. The source said the ill-fated crane will not be reconstructed and will never be used in the Haram projects again. An investigation committee into the accident concluded that the crane was “in a wrong position” when the high winds struck, as its main arm should have been lowered. The position of the crane was in violation of operating instructions prepared by the manufacturer, said the inquiry report. “There are about 100 cranes involved in the Haram expansion projects and they are quite sufficient for the duty,” he said. The source said the crane has completed most of its assignments and the remaining duties will be done by the other remaining cranes. He said, in coordination without the Civil Defense, all the 100 cranes still present near the Haram, have been technically examined and found out to be quite safe. The source said studies are under way to determine whether the cranes are needed there. “Any crane which is found not needed any more will be taken away from the Haram,” he added. Most of the cranes are stationed in the southern and eastern sides of the Haram to implement the expansion projects. “The expansion of he Mataf has almost been completed and now only final touches are being made. Therefore there is less need for the cranes,” he said.
