On Friday the evening just after 10:30 PM, Haramain Sharifain obtained photos from the incident which had occurred in the outer courtyard of Masjid Al Haram, which involved a car breaching the courtyard of Masjid Al Haram and into the King Fahad expansion
Later a video was also obtained which showed that the car uncontrollably slammed across the barriers in the courtyard and finally halted after it crashed into Gate 89 of Masjid Al Haram
UPDATE | A Hyundai car, beige colored, collided at Door 89 of Masjid Al Haram at 10:25 pm And the driver was arrested inside the expansion of King Fahad No one was hurt, Alhamdulillah pic.twitter.com/C4TX6cvODs— Haramain Sharifain (@hsharifain) October 30, 2020
How did the incident occur?
According to multiple sources the car is said to have entered the courtyard using Road 15 which is the main road which directly opens into the King Fahad Expansion courtyard of Masjid Al Haram.
Road 15 from where the breach occurred
The road is usually crowded and is only used to drop off and pick up pilgrims before and after Salah time, this road also contains the Royal Safa Palace and the office of the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques
Entrance into the courtyard contains minimal barriersBarriers at this point are kept at a minimum and space is left between them for the safety of the pilgrims because a large number of pilgrims pass through them during peak hours.
The distance between the point of the breach and the gate of Masjid Al Haram is roughly 230 meters
The barriers on the entrance of the courtyard are minimal and can be easily slammed down by an uncontrolled vehicle which is evident from the video and photos obtained
The barrier at the entrance of the courtyard after the car slammed against it
The Emirate of Makkah released an official statement in the early hours of Saturday stating: “The security authorities responded to an accident that involved a car hitting one of the doors of the Grand Mosque as a result of drifting while traveling at high speed on one of the roads surrounding the southern square of the Grand Mosque and by the grace of Allah no one was injured. It became clear that the person after his arrest is a citizen and in an abnormal condition, and he is being referred to the Public Prosecution.”
