MAKKAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal ordered an inquiry yesterday into the scaffolding accident on the Safa side of the Grand Mosque on Thursday.
The accident has taken the lives of at least four of 19 workers involved in the collapse of the scaffolding around a minaret being constructed, which is part of an ongoing renovation project at Islam's holiest site.
Some newspaper reports said five workers have died -- three Egyptians and two Ethiopians -- and two of the injured are in critical condition.
The accident occurred at around 7.30 p.m. on Thursday. Rescue workers had trouble extracting the men due to the narrow hole at the base of the 95-meter-tall minaret project, which when completed will become the tallest of the Grand Mosque's current eight minarets.
This minaret will replace one that was removed as part of the expansion of the Masa'a, the area for ritual walking between Safa and Marwah. Earlier in 2007, Civil Defense firefighters had extinguished a minor fire that broke out at the new extension of the Masa'a.
However, the fire which did not cause any death or injuries, was blamed on an electrical short-circuit.
A number of firefighting teams headed by Col. Jameel Arbaeen, director of the Civil Defense in Makkah, had rushed to the site soon after the fire broke out.
A firefighter was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
By Ibtisam Sheqdar
© Arab News 2009
