Saudi Arabia: 3 emergency centres operating in Mecca Grand Mosque

Cairo: Three emergency centres are operating inside the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site in the Saudi city of Mecca to serve worshippers converging on the place from inside and outside the kingdom.

The centres are housed in the King Fahd Expansion (first floor near Gate 91); the Saudi Riwaq Arcade (formerly Bab Al Safa next to the funeral prayer hall); and the Saudi Riwaq (first floor next to Ajyad Mosque), the General Authority for Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques said.

The state agency added that hospitals in the outer courtyards of the Grand Mosque include the Ajyad General Hospital.

Last month, two helipads were launched inside the Grand Mosque in a step aimed to boost rapid response to medical emergencies.

"This historic step strengthens the emergency healthcare infrastructure, ensuring the provision of the highest quality and speediest healthcare services," Saudi Minister of Health Fahd Al Jalajel said at the time.

The Grand Mosque is home to the Holy Kaaba that Muslims all over the world direct in their prayers. 

Millions of Muslims head to the sprawling mosque around the year to perform prayers and the Umrah or lesser pilgrimage.

Around 92.1 million worshippers and pilgrims in the Grand Mosque flocked to the mosque during this past Islamic sacred lunar month of Ramadan that ended in the kingdom on March 30, according to official figures. 

Ramadan usually marks the peak of the Umrah season.