A man has been captured on camera as he committed suicide inside the Grand Mosque of Mecca, by jumping from the third floor to the ground as thousands of pilgrims were performing the tawaaf.
Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca (File photo: Reuters)
A man has committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof of the Grand Mosque in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca, Saudi police said on Saturday.
The man who has been identified as a Frenchman committed suicide by jumping from the third floorof the Mosque to the ground, where thousands of pilgrims were performing the tawaaf.
“A foreigner threw himself from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Mecca to the courtyard below, resulting in his instant death,” state news agency SPA said, quoting police.
The incident occurred late Friday and was captured on footage by others inside the Masjid al-Haram complex housing the Kaaba, the building Muslims face while performing their prayers.
According to AFP, the body was transported to a hospital, with an investigation underway “to determine the victim’s identity, what led to the act and how he was able to commit it despite the existence of a metal fence”, SPA said.
Every year, millions of Muslim pilgrims from across the world travel to Mecca and Medina, Islam’s second holiest site, also in western Saudi Arabia.
Watch the suicide video below;