Video: Man commits suicide in Masjid al Haram

A French national on Friday  reportedly committed suicide in Makkah's  Masjid al Haram (Great Mosque ) as thousands of pilgrims offered prayers.

Citing Saudi police, local media reported that incident took place at 9:20pm on Friday - when a foreigner threw himself from the roof of the mosque.

The man received serious injuries after falling to the ground and died on his way to hospital. 

The local administration said the man fell in the Mataf area and had his ribs and many other bones broken. 

An alleged  video of the incident shows  a man  jumping from the roof of the Grand Mosque , falling   and then landing on the ground with a loud thud.

SPA adds

“A foreigner threw himself from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Makkah” to the courtyard below, “resulting in his instant death,” state news agency SPA said, quoting police.

The rare act was not the first of its kind to take place in Makkah, the holiest city in Islam — which, like other monotheistic religions, prohibits suicide.

The body was transported to 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.

Last year, a Saudi man tried to set himself on fire in front of the Kaaba — the square stone building in the center of the mosque compound — but was stopped by security forces.