JEDDAH: Two people were injured when a construction crane came crashing down on top of two passing vehicles and a government building during morning rush hour in Jeddah’s Al-Rawdah district yesterday.
The incident took place at 8 a.m. and the area was sealed off for more than six hours. Three Civil Defense rescue units were dispatched to the scene.
“I was taking my son to school when the crane came crashing down right in front of us, smashing several cars,” said Kariema Abou Baker, a 42-year-old Australian mother of six from Melbourne.
“I screamed and my son was terrified. I am still in a state of shock,” Kariema, who is married to a Saudi, told Arab News in a phone interview a few hours after the incident.
She added that the loud sound of the impact had people rushing out from the surrounding shops to investigate the cause.
“I feel sorry for those injured. I take the same route every day to drop off my son. It could have been our car crushed under that crane,” she said. “I am disgusted with the construction company and municipal officials who inspect the site.”
Civil Defense spokesman Capt. Abdullah Al-Amri said a construction worker and the driver of one of the vehicles were injured in the accident.
“The crane fell on two cars and a government building located on the opposite side of the road,” he said. The accident also damaged parts of the road.
“The crane was attached to the fourth floor of a building under construction,” said Al-Amri. “We are investigating what caused the accident,” he added.
“Either the crane was very old or it was overloaded,” Civil Defense Director in Jeddah Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi told reporters at the accident site.
But a construction supervisor who did not want to give his name told Arab News that the crane was fairly new. “It was three years old and was scheduled for maintenance,” he said before rushing off not wanting to disclose further details.
The two cars damaged were a Lexus and a GMC suburban. The injured driver of the Lexus was taken to King Faisal Specialist Hospital for treatment.
