A father of four from Bolton fell victim to the Saudi crane crash, mere hours after arriving in the city for his first pilgrimage to Mecca. A private hire driver, Qasim Akram (32), was killed when a construction crane fell through the Grand Mosque in the Saudi city of Mecca. He had arrived with his parents who were believed to not be near him during the incident and escaped without injury.
A local councillor and friend, Akhtar Zaman rendered his condolences, saying he had met with Akram only days before his death. “He and his parents were in the same vicinity, the same area but he was maybe 50 yards ahead of his parents and that's when the accident happened. They lost contact with him and they couldn't find him. They found out [on Saturday night] and the authorities identified him.”
Zaman said he had been on the pilgrimage for around three to four weeks. Akram was an active member of the Masjid Al Aqsa mosque in Gilnow Road, Halliwell, where his father was secretary. The mosque's Facebook page shared a picture of Akram with a message that read, “We share not only the picture but also the pain and grief of his departure from this world to the eternal abode of bliss.” Calling him a hard-working man, Zaman said, “I knew Qasim personally, he was the most pleasant, hard-working, smiling and helpful young man you could ever meet. He's from quite a big family and they are devastated to the core. He is married and has four kids. I think the youngest may be one-and-a-half or two years old. People are praying at the mosques.”
“It is a huge loss to the family and a big loss for the wider community.”
