Families of Six Nigerians killed in Saudi mosque crane accident to receive N70 million each

Families of six Nigerians who lost their lives in the Saudi crane incident will receive N70 Million each, The king of Saudi ordered. The Nation Newspaper reported that the victims family will also benefit from other private claims.

Families of the six Nigerian pilgrims who died in the last Friday crane collapse at the Makkah grand Mosque are to get N70 million each.

Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who disclosed this on Tuesday has also ordered that top officials of the Saudi Binladin Group be banned from traveling outside the kingdom after the construction company was partially blamed for Friday’s deadly crane crash in Makkah.

Saudi authority said families of each of the 111 people who lost their lives in the accident be paid compensation of (SR1,000,000) one million Saudi Riyals.

One Saudi Riyal is presently equivalent to 70 Nigerian Naira.

According to Saudi local newspaper, Arab News, ‘King Salman ordered the payment of the following to the families of the victims: SR1,000,000 to the family of each person killed in this accident; SR1,000,000 to each injured whose injury resulted in permanent disability; SR500,000 to each of the other injured.”

According to the report, such payment would not deprive the families of the deceased as well as the injured from the right to claim for private right before the competent judicial authorities.

“The king also issued directives to host two family members of the deceased as the king’s guests to perform Hajj next year.

“The injured who cannot perform Haj this year can perform Hajj next year as the king’s guests. The families of the injured who stay in hospitals for treatment shall be granted visit visas to take care of the injured during the remaining period of Hajj and return back to their country,” the royal court said.

A royal court announcement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the king is reviewing the report of the Accident Investigation Committee, which suggested negligence on the part of the Saudi Binladin Group, but concluded that it found an “absence of criminal suspicion.”

The report said “the main reason for the accident is the strong winds while the crane was in a wrong position.”

Some 111 people were killed and 331 injured when the giant crane being used in the expansion project at the Grand Mosque toppled and crashed into a portion of the mataf (circumambulation area) around the holy Kaaba on Sept. 11.

Pending completion of the investigation, all members of the Board of Directors of Binladin Group, as well as Bakr bin Mohammed bin Ladin and senior executives in the group and others connected with the project are banned from leaving the kingdom, said the royal court order.