Khalid Al-Falih

The Ministry of Health (MoH) is implementing an emergency plan under the direct supervision of its minister Khalid Al-Falih to serve the victims of Friday’s crane crash in Makkah.

A committee has been working since the time of the accident under the instructions of the General Health Directorate in Makkah, an official of the ministry said here.

The official said hospitals have used around 340 units of blood from the blood bank, which has a stock of 2,000 units to cater to such emergencies. Currently, 36 special teams are working in various hospitals to serve the injured as well as to assist the families of those killed in the accident.

Health officials from Jeddah and Taif have also been called to cope with the influx of patients. Emergency cases were referred to Ajyad Hospital in Makkah and others were transferred to other hospitals in the holy city. The MoH said the situation in the holy city was back to normal and that pilgrims were able to continue with their rituals as scheduled.

According to a report released Sunday, 967,429 Haj pilgrims have already arrived in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

On Saturday, the MoH said 95 of the injured were discharged from hospitals in Makkah, following full recovery. Another 110 are being currently treated at these facilities.

According to Tarek Al-Arnoos, director-general of Health Emergency and head of Emergency and Field Medicine Committee at the MoH, the ministry has deployed 157 ambulances in the two holy cities.

Every year, the MoH deploys more than 20,000 health officials to serve the guests of Allah during pilgrimage.