74 pilgrims killed in Mecca hotel collapse

A Saudi official said that number of persons killed in the building collapse incident of Lou'lo'at al-Kheir hotel in Mecca increased to 74 while other 64 were reported injured.

The chairman of the rescue team Alwani Jaddawi expected that other persons are still under the remains, but it was decided to stop the search operations on Friday in order to reopen the path in the crowded quarters, which is 200 meters far from Mecca Mosque.

The rescue teams used one helicopter and evacuated two buildings situated on the hotel side, and the authorities formed an investigation committee to look into the incident

The spokesman for the Ministry of Interior lt. gen. Mansour al-Turkey said that the rescue teams continued until Thursday late evening to search for survivors under the remains of the 6- floor hotel.

For his part, the director general for civil defense Adel al-Zamzami said that the the hotel building was old and no longer able to receive clients. He explained that it was found out after inspection that it is over loaded. Some of Mecca's inhabitants said that the building is more than 30 year old.