JEDDAH, 29 May 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has instructed authorities to punish all officials and parties found to be negligent by investigators in the collapse of a hotel building during the Haj season in January this year, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
“King Abdullah approved a report presented by the Interior Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee Prince Naif. The report identified the reasons why the Luluat Al-Kheir Hotel in Makkah’s Gazza neighborhood collapsed on Jan. 5, 2006,” the agency said, quoting an official statement.
At least 76 pilgrims of different nationalities died in the disaster that took place three days before the beginning of the pilgrimage. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said the number of people who died in the accident was 76 — 48 men and 28 women. He put the number of injured at 62.
An investigation committee set up by Prince Naif soon after the incident held the first tenant of the building, the engineering office, the Commerce and Industry Ministry’s office in Makkah and the Makkah Municipality responsible for the building collapse.
The committee included representatives from the governor’s office in Makkah, the Makkah Municipality, the Haj Ministry, the Civil Defense, the Control and Investigation Commission and a technical panel.
“The investigation committee, after studying all relevant documents, concluded that the building collapsed because of its age as it was constructed 40 years ago using old methods,” the report said. It also noticed that additional floors had been built on top of the building in an improper fashion.
After studying the investigation committee’s findings, the Supreme Haj Committee decided to transfer the case to the Investigation and Public Prosecution Commission to complete prosecution procedures for public and private rights against those responsible for the building’s collapse.
The Control and Investigation Commission will look into the charges against officials at both the Commerce and Industry Ministry’s office in Makkah and the Makkah Municipality, the report said.
Prince Naif said the investigation committee had been instructed to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of buildings in Makkah used by Haj and Umrah pilgrims as well as other visitors to the holy city.
The committee has also pledged to take measures to prevent a repeat of such accidents.
At the time of the disaster, the Supreme Haj Committee advised the government to help pilgrims who survived the accident and lost their travel documents and property to complete their Haj rituals and return to their respective countries.
Ahmed Qasim Al-Ghamdi, acting director general of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, explained that the public rights mentioned in the report were related to the rights of the affected public, adding that the government would handle them.
“The private rights are related to individuals. It is the right of all affected individuals to demand his or her rights,” he explained. “If a person had died in the accident, his relatives can demand blood money. Those who suffered material damage can ask for compensation. There are experts at courts to calculate such damages,” he added.
