UPDATED: 8:15 a.m. BST, Sept. 12
A crane collapsed at the famed Masjid al Haram mosque in Mecca on Friday, reportedly leaving dozens dead and many more wounded.
The collapse occurred as strong storms battered the building, also known as the Grand Mosque, which surrounds Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba.
According to numbers from the Saudi Civil Defense forces, which responded to the emergency, at least 107 people died and, as of Saturday morning, more than 200 others were injured.
Footage from inside the mosque following the crane collapse shows debris strewn across the floor and motionless bodies covered in blood.
Warning: The following images are graphic and may be disturbing to some.
Video emerging of deadly crane collapse at Masjid al Haram mosque in Mecca pic.twitter.com/BtISRfud0R— Mashable News (@MashableNews) September 11, 2015
عاجل .. تباشر الآن فرق #العاصمة_المقدسة حادثة سقوط رافعة في الحرم المكي . #سقوط_رافعة_بالحرم_المكي - pic.twitter.com/lb1KEDYz4I— أخبار السعودية (@SaudiNews50) September 11, 2015
Local reports attribute the crane collapse to the strong winds and heavy rain that battered the building.
Satellite imagery showed a massive thunderstorm complex over Mecca at around the time of the collapse, which would have been capable of causing damaging winds and heavy rains.
Photos from the Civil Defense Forces show large slabs of the roof have apparently crashed to the floor.
جانب من تواجد فرق الدفاع المدني في الحرم المكي. pic.twitter.com/kBtFrXdtQL— الدفاع المدني (@KSA_998) September 11, 2015
Friday's deadly incident comes ahead of the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, set to take place later this month.
There have been several cranes positioned around the mosque for months as it is undergoing a large scale reconstruction to support expand the area around the holy sanctuary. Steep hills and low-rise traditional buildings that once surrounded the mosque have in recent years given way to shopping malls and luxury hotels — among them the world's third-tallest building.
Some information from the Associated Press.