Saudi newspaper Al Arabia has claimed that at least 25 Bangladesh nationals were among those killed in Friday's crane crash in the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Examining the initial reports on casualties, the newspaper said those killed in the accident were 15 Pakistanis, 23 Egyptians, 10 Indians, 25 Iranians, six Malaysians, 25 Bangladeshis, one Algerian and one Afghan.

Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia, however, ruled out deaths of 25 Bangladeshis in the crane accident, says online news portal Banglanews24.com.

It reported that till 12:30pm Saudi time the Bangladesh Embassy denied the death figure published in Saudi media and confirmed only one Bangladeshi was killed and one remained missing.

At least 107 people were killed and over 230 people injured when a huge crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Friday evening.


NS/LY