Collapse
According to reports, prior to the collapse a fire was seen spreading downstairs in the building. The fire alarm went off and sprinklers were in operation. The building was not full, as many of the occupants had made their way to the Masjid al Haram for mid-day Salat. As soon as the collapse happened, nearby people began to dig to try to remove the rubble. Up to one thousand Saudi rescue workers were dispatched, and two large cranes were brought in to try to clear the masonry. People in buildings nearby were evacuated as a precaution.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Mecca Hostel Collapse
Famous quotes containing the word collapse:
“Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“At the crash of economic collapse of which the rumblings can already be heard, the sleeping soldiers of the proletariat will awake as at the fanfare of the Last Judgment and the corpses of the victims of the struggle will arise and demand an accounting from those who are loaded down with curses.”
—Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919)
“The Roman world is in collapse but we do not bend our neck.”
—Jerome (c. 340–420)