Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (R) arrives to the scene where a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in this Sept. 12, 2015 photo.

The Council of Senior Scholars has praised the response of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to the crane accident at the Grand Mosque, describing his sympathy for the victim’s families and his determination to hold to account those responsible as both appropriate and timely.

Sheikh Fahd bin Saad Al-Majed, secretary-general of the council, said in a statement: “The secretariat of the council highly values the firm stance of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and supports his strict orders to disburse SR1 million to the family of each of the victims in the accident, as well as to each injured person with a permanent handicap resulting from the accident.”

They also praised the king’s decision to give SR500,000 to every other injured person, without disregarding the judiciary claims of their private rights in courts.

The secretary-general also expressed his satisfaction with recent royal orders to host two members of the deceased families from outside of the Kingdom to perform Haj during the next season, as well as to halt the work of the Binladen Company and to prevent any of its members from traveling abroad until all investigations are completed into the incident and its causes.

The secretary-general also noted the importance of the task bestowed upon the Ministry of Finance to review all of the projects implemented by the Binladen Group.