The Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), run by Osama bin Laden’s brother, has been banned from taking on new work, and will have its current projects reviewed, at the behest of Saudi King Salman, following the deadly Mecca crane collapse last week which killed 107 people and injured 400. Saudi Press Agency citing government investigators said SBG was “partly responsible for the accident and had not respected safety rules,” reports RT. The crane, allegedly toppled by high winds, collapsed on top of hajj pilgrims who had been gathering outside the Grand Mosque, next to the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site.
“The position of the crane was in violation of operating instructions,” said investigators, who are expected to make a full report by Friday. Members of the SBG board of directors, including chairman Bakr Bin Laden, have been told not to leave the country, until a verdict is pronounced on the accident. SBG was in charge of the $27 billion expansion of the Grand Mosque.
