Saudi Arabia Compensates Victims of 2015 Mecca Crane Collapse

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In its fourth week, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, received USD 6.133 million (Rp87 billion) in compensation from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for victims of the fallen crane incident in Mecca during the 2015 hajj season.

In the embassy’s press release, the bank check was handed by the Mohammad Alshammeri, Saudi Arabian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Deputy Consular Legal Councilor to the Indonesian Embassy’s civilian protection coordinator in Riyadh, Ahmad Arief.

Victims who are left permanently disabled and relatives of the deceased from the tragic crane incident on September 11, 2015, will each be compensated Rp3.7 billion while one victim enduring severe injuries will undergo further passport data matching.

The long-awaited compensation for the victims has been reported to the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry to be further coordinated with the Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry for its final administrative matters.

This also marks Indonesia as the first nation to be compensated by the Saudi Arabian government after a crane fell in the Masjidil Haram complex on September 11, 2015, which killed more than 100 hajj pilgrims and injured more than 200 pilgrims who came from Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Turkey, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and Egypt.

The final verdict of a Court Hearing in October 2017 found no criminal elements in the case and freed 13 suspects from all charges. The Saudi Arabian government deemed that the deadly incident was purely caused by strong gusts of wind.

NON CORRESPONDENT | SUCI SEKARWATI