MAKKAH: A 12-story hotel is to be demolished after the top of the building tilted by half a meter. The Civil Defense will be responsible for tearing down the tower, spokesman Capt. Saleh Al-Olayani confirmed.

“The building has become a source of danger to other neighboring buildings and pedestrians. The job has been handed over to an international demolishing company,” he added.

The spokesman said Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal had issued a standing order to demolish any building considered a hazard to people or other buildings.

He said investigations revealed that an eight-meter hole to the north of the 15-year-old hotel might be the cause of the tilting.

“Fear for the lives of people and the safety of other buildings prompted concerned authorities to move fast to avoid harm that might result from the collapse of the tilted part of the hotel,” Al-Olayani said.

Many realtors and investors have called for an end to the construction of hotel towers in Makkah because they stop new homes from being built.

They also say that the new edifices overshadow the Holy Mosque.

Early in 2006, a four-story building near the Holy Mosque collapsed, killing 20 pilgrims and injuring about 60 others.