King Salman provides US$6.133 compensation for victims of collapsed crane

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) –  The Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has presented a compensation money worth US$6.133 million or 23 million Saudi riyal for the victims of a crane that collapsed in the complex of the Grand Mosque during the hajj season 2015 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Agus Maftuh Abegebriel thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) for the empathy and attention given to Indonesian pilgrims, especially victims of the collapsed crane that occurred on September 11, 2015.

The Indonesian Ambassador made the remark in a statement received by Indonesia Window here on Monday.

Following the transfer of compensation, the Indonesian Ambassador immediately sent a thank-you letter to King Salman and Crown Prince MBS.

The same letter was sent to the Governor of Makkah, Prince Khalid al-Faisal, as well as various relevant ministries in Saudi Arabia including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance.

Compensation

The compensation in the form of a check consists of 35 sheets with two different nominal amounts, which is valued at 133,333 US dollars (equivalent to 500 thousand riyals) or around Rp1.8 billion for seriously injured victims and 266,666.66 US dollars (equivalent to 1 million riyals) or Rp3,7 billion for the dead and permanently disabled.

Meanwhile, a compensation check for seriously injured victims still requires passport data matching and will soon be realized. Thus the total compensation given by King Salman becomes 36 checks.

The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh has also submitted a detailed report on the administration of the delivery of compensation funds for victims of serious injuries and permanent disabilities as well as the heirs of the dead to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh will also coordinate with the Indonesian Ministry of Religion to complete the report.

“Almost every week the families of heirs in Indonesia contact us via Facebook, WhatsApp or other social media, asking when Raja Salman’s compensation is realized,” the Ambassador said.

He explained that since he began serving at the Indonesian Embassy in March 2016, efforts to resolve the case became a priority by always communicating with the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“When we had only served two months in Saudi, we were required to go to the palace of the King and at that time we conveyed the hopes of the heirs to the crane victims to Diwan Malaki or the Royal Court which was the Office of King Salman,” explained the Ambassador.

Some diplomatic memorandum received by the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh from the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia explained that the compensation payments from King Salman to Indonesian citizens who fell victims of the collapsed crane  will be given after the fatwa process of inheritance of each of the dead victims has been completed.

However, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to provide facilities to Indonesia by realizing the handover of the checks before the heir fatwa process – which is still being prepared by the Indonesian Ministry of Religion – was completed.

Ambassador Agus Maftuh appreciated the conveniences provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and gave high appreciation to the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta who always worked together in completing the delivery of compensation which was the concern of King Salman for the people of Indonesia.

Compensation checks for Indonesia were the first to be submitted by Saudi Arabia.

The crash of a crane in the construction area of ​​the Grand Mosque occurred on Friday, September 11, 2015. The incident killed more than 100 people and injured more than 200 people.

The pilgrims who were victims of the accident came from Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Turkey, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Egypt.

Following the incident, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fielded a fact-finding team to conduct a detailed investigation of the incident.

The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has named 13 suspects in this case, including the Bin Laden Contractor. But in a court hearing in October 2017, the judge who read the text of the 108-page verdict ruled that there was no criminal element in the incident.

Finally, the 13 suspects were acquitted of lawsuits and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided that the collapse of the crane was purely the result of a natural disaster in the form of a major storm that occurred in Mecca.

Based on the facts of the trial, Ambassador Agus Maftuh said that the US $ 6.13 million check was not a diyat or fine but really was a form of compensation and a form of great concern for King Salman for the victims of the crane that collapsed near the Shafa area.

Reporting by Indonesia Window