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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: 87 dead after crane crashes onto Grand Mosque

The death toll following a crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Mecca has risen to 87, authorities in Saudi Arabia say.

The Saudi Arabia civil defence authority boss also told Al Ikhbariya television that 183 people have been injured in the incident.

It is not yet known what caused the structure to fall, but eyewitnesses report high winds in the moments before the crane crashed down.

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