Warning: Images and video in this post contain graphic images of death, and may be disturbing.
At least 62 people are confirmed killed in Saudi Arabia today, crushed after a crane collapsed at Mecca's Grand Mosque. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense authority first tweeted news of the accident, which came just weeks before the Muslim annual hajj pilgrimage.
The disaster happened as strong storms were slamming the Grand Mosque, which surrounds Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba.
Pictures circulating on social media showed pilgrims in bloodied robes and masses of debris from a part of the crane that seemed to have crashed through a ceiling.
Saudi authorities go to great lengths to be prepared for the millions of Muslim who converge on Mecca to perform the sacred pilgrimage.
Last year, the kingdom reduced the numbers permitted to perform hajj for safety reasons because of construction work to enlarge the Grand Mosque.
#BREAKING: Many casualties reported as crane falls on pilgrims in Haram Al-Sharif, #Makkah (http://t.co/0C8c28ZpAk) pic.twitter.com/aBJlIaJe3K
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) September 11, 2015
عاجل ..
تباشر الآن فرق #العاصمة_المقدسة حادثة سقوط رافعة في الحرم المكي .
#سقوط_رافعة_بالحرم_المكي
- pic.twitter.com/lb1KEDYz4I
— أخبار السعودية (@SaudiNews50) September 11, 2015