The guards pursued the driver as he passed two barriers.
Riyadh:
A Saudi man slammed into a high-speed car inside the outer walls of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, authorities said on Saturday.
Guards chased the driver as he passed two barriers before hitting one of the southern entrances to the mosque on Friday evening, according to holy city officials and videos on social media.
Authorities in Mecca did not name the man but said he appeared to be in “abnormal condition”. He was returned to the prosecution to face possible charges, they added.
A car crosses the courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and crashes into the door#Makkah#MasjidilHaram#Saudi Arabiapic.twitter.com/YeB3qQeFE9
– Mohammad Jamlish Roy (@jamlishofficial) October 31, 2020
Earlier in October, Saudi Arabia opened the Grand Mosque for prayers for the first time in seven months and expanded the Umrah pilgrimage to accommodate 15,000 worshipers from inside the kingdom while relaxing the boundaries of the coronavirus.
Umrah – a Muslim pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time – was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Umrah’s limit will be raised to 20,000 from Sunday, when authorities allow pilgrims from abroad.
Saudi Arabia hosted the annual hajj pilgrimage at the end of July, on the smallest scale in modern history.
Only up to 10,000 Muslim residents of the country have been allowed to participate, a far cry from the 2.5 million who attended last year.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
