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Bolton father among dead in Mecca crane collapse

A father-of-four from Bolton was among the 107 people killed in Saudi Arabia when a crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Tributes have been paid to Qasim Akram who was killed hours after arriving in the city ahead of his first pilgrimage to the holy city.

Mr Akram, who was believed to be 32 and a private hire driver, had been in the Grand Mosque with his parents some 50 yards ahead of them when the crane struck the mosque which is Islam's holiest site.

His parents, Mr and Mrs Mohammad Akram, are believed to have escaped without injury.

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Mecca: 65 dead after Grand Mosque crane collapse

The construction crane has crashed through part of the holy site. Credit: @SinemCngz/Twitter

The death toll from a crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Mecca has risen to at least 65.

The Saudi Arabian civil defence authority has tweeted via its official account that 80 people have been injured.

Eyewitnesses have reported high winds and stormy conditions moments before the structure fell.

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