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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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Hajj to go ahead despite crane collapse, officials vow

The annual hajj pilgrimage will go ahead despite a crane collapse which killed 107 people at Mecca's Grand Mosque, officials in Saudi Arabia have confirmed.

It comes after investigators revealed high winds and heavy rain had caused the collapse.

The crane collapse killed 107 people who had gathered to pray Credit: RTV

Suleiman al-Amr, director general of the Civil Defence Authority, warned the death toll from the tragedy - which also left 238 people injured - could rise further.

But while some parts of the Grand Mosque remained sealed off, in a show of determination crowds today returned to pray at the holy site ahead of hajj, one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already arrived in Mecca for the annual pilgrimage, which last year drew two million people to the city.

Hajj is due to officially begin on September 21 - and an unnamed official told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that it would go ahead as planned.

The incident won't affect the hajj pilgrimage this year and repairs to the damaged section [of the mosque] will begin within days.

– Statement
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Bolton father among dead in Mecca crane collapse

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