King sanctions Binladin company over crane disaster

Saudi Arabia's King Salman sanctioned the powerful Saudi Binladin Group on Tuesday over the collapse of a construction crane at Mecca's Grand Mosque, which killed more than 100 people days before the annual hajj pilgrimage to the city.

An investigative committee concluded that the company "was in part responsible" for Friday's accident, which killed at least 107 people and injured almost 400 during a severe thunderstorm accompanied by violent winds.

Investigators found that the crane was allegedly "in a wrong position" when the high winds struck, as its main arm should have been lowered, the official Saudi Press Agency said.