MAKKAH: Al-Massa Hotel in central Makkah area was evacuated after a major controlled explosion from a nearby construction site destroyed its glass windows.
Lt. Col. Ali Muntashri, spokesman of the Civil Defense Department in Makkah, said the explosion took place at about 11 a.m.
The hotel was also hit by debris from the explosion, which took place in the project site of Ajyad Hospital, close to the Grand Mosque. The explosion was carried out to break rocks in the mountainous area.
Muntashri said the department has launched an investigation into the incident in which nobody was injured. Some marble pieces of the hotel also fell down as a result of the force of the explosion.
Some guests of the hotel, who were worried about their security following the explosion, intended to leave the place, one witness said. Another witness said there was a strong smell of fire just before the explosion, adding that the incident frightened people living in the area including pilgrims, women and children.
Ayman Muhammad, who works in a pharmacy close to the hotel, said the explosion was accompanied by a strong tremor, which resulted in falling glass of the hotel. Bottles of medicine inside his pharmacy were also scattered as a result of the explosion.
“Soon after hearing the explosion I closed the pharmacy to see what had happened,” Muhammad told Arab News. He said he reopened the pharmacy soon after Dhuhr prayer and cleaned up his shop.
