# Crane Collapse In Mecca, Scores Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689 "2015-09-11T18:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/1 "2015-09-11T18:19:06Z")
From the [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/world/middleeast/crane-crash-grand-mosque-mecca.html?emc=edit_na_20150911&nlid=43071900&ref=cta&_r=0) > [@](#): > > A large construction crane crashed into the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on Friday, and the authorities there said at least 65 people had been killed. > The accident happened as the Saudi authorities were in the midst of extensive preparations for the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the holiest sites in Islam, which begins in the next few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/2 "2015-09-11T19:38:02Z")
Allah willed it. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/3 "2015-09-11T19:59:34Z")
Possibly Isis sabotage? They are into destroying antiquities these days. Maybe trying to enrage more Muslims? Or simply an ironic 9/11 accident… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/4 "2015-09-11T20:42:07Z")
I feel sad for their loss. What a terrible tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/5 "2015-09-11T20:45:49Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Or simply an ironic 9/11 accident… What did these poor victims have to do with 9/11? ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/6 "2015-09-11T21:10:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What did these poor victims have to do with 9/11? Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/7 "2015-09-11T21:16:19Z")
There were heavy storms in the area so I doubt it is anything sinister. Just a tragic accident. I feel sad for the victims and their families. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/8 "2015-09-11T21:35:57Z")
The videos show more of a tip over due to wind rather than collapse. Scant difference to the poor people underneath. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/9 "2015-09-11T22:54:44Z")
Gravity is a cruel mistress. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/10 "2015-09-11T23:55:52Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Possibly Isis sabotage? They are into destroying antiquities these days. Maybe trying to enrage more Muslims? They’re destroying non-Islamic antiquities and Shia mosques. They’re not going to destroy the Grand Mosque. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/11 "2015-09-12T00:37:34Z")
Screw 9/11. It’s gotta be karmic retribution for building [this architectural monstrosity.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/12 "2015-09-12T00:52:25Z")
Perhaps Allah is displeased with the recent conduct of some segment of the Muslim population…? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/13 "2015-09-12T00:57:27Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Screw 9/11. It’s gotta be karmic retribution for building [this architectural monstrosity.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait) Holy shit, that looks thoroughly horrible. :eek: Still, I don’t suppose the poor sods killed/injured by the collapsing crane are to blame for it. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/14 "2015-09-12T01:17:56Z")
How sad. The engineering that goes in to the Hajj is really spectacular. Even 50 years ago, visiting Mecca was an extraordinary effort, out of reach for the vast majority of Muslims. About 100,000 people embarked on the Hajj in 1960. Now, getting there is basically as easy as logging on to Orbitz. Between a rising incomes in many once impoverished countries and the growth of regional airline industries, more people than ever are able to go. More than 2 million people are expected this year- and all of these people will be undertaking a specific set of rituals in specific places at specific times. People come from every corner of the world and every imaginable circumstance, and often do not share a common language. Saudi Arabia has built enormous infrastructure to accommodate these crowds, and has had to introduce some changes in the rituals for the sake of safety. They’ve build enormous multi-level walkways and other structures to accommodate the crowd. Still, it’s an enormous stretch, and there are regular accidents, some very deadly. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/15 "2015-09-12T01:36:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Perhaps Allah is displeased with the recent conduct of some segment of the Muslim population…? Yes, you’ve nailed it dot dot dot question mark. Just a bit innuendo there, a wee bit suggestion, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/16 "2015-09-12T01:37:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Gravity is a cruel mistress. I got “The Tick” reference. It is a tragedy, and unfortunately one that conspiracy nutters will likely make much wool out of. Hopefully for the sake of the survivors and families of the dead it gets less traction that the conspiracies of the 2001 attacks. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/17 "2015-09-12T04:39:00Z")
The Middle East is indeed not averse to conspiracy theories, and the collapse of a crane operated by a Bin Laden family company on September 11 might well be seen as some sort of CIA-sponsored revenge. The Saudis had finally managed to put together a few years without mass death at the hajj, and now this happens. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/18 "2015-09-12T05:51:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The Middle East is indeed not averse to conspiracy theories, and the collapse of a crane operated by a Bin Laden family company on September 11 might well be seen as some sort of CIA-sponsored revenge. Wind can’t bend steel beams. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/19 "2015-09-12T06:02:41Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Possibly Isis sabotage? They are into destroying antiquities these days. Maybe trying to enrage more Muslims? The Saudi government has no problems destroying antiquities in Mecca _without_ outside help. ---
**Author:** ![SeniorCitizen007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@SeniorCitizen007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeniorCitizen007)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689/20 "2015-09-12T13:15:53Z")
A crane is going to collapse onto the roof of the Grand Mosque at Mecca sometime during a twelve month period. The odds of it happening within 5 mins of the anniversiary of the exact time the north tower fell are over 5,000-1 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crane-collapse-in-mecca-scores-dead/730689.md?page=2)