crane
A construction crane which crashed in the Grand Mosque is pictured in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 12, 2015. More than 100 people were killed when the crane toppled over at Mecca's Grand Mosque, less than two weeks before Islam's annual haj pilgrimage. REUTERS/Mohamed Al Hwaity

Human error is to blame for the crane that fell and killed more than 100 people in Saudi Arabia ahead of the hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca last year, the Saudi Gazette reported. The Grand Mosque crane was operated by people who were not licensed to do so, an engineer testified in a Saudi Arabian court on Wednesday.

The user's manual that explained how to operate the heavy machinery was never consulted by some of the people manning the crane, said the engineer, who is one of 14 defendants in the case.

"Some of them did not even know that such a book existed," said the engineer, who was not immediately identified.

While the proceedings have been taking place in criminal court, the defendants have said the case instead belongs in the Civil Defense Court because it was an accident. The worst punishment a civil court could levy against the defendants would be about six months in prison and a fine versus a potential life or death sentence in criminal court.

The host of charges the defendants are facing include but are not limited to the violation of safety rules, negligence and causing the death and injuries to many people.

One hundred and eleven people were killed and 260 people injured when the giant crane came down on Sept. 11, 2015. The accidental crash happened in the lead up to hajj, the annual pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca, was scheduled to take place.

About two weeks after the crane collapsed, hajj was marred by a deadly stampede that killed at least 2,400 people, which is more than three times the estimate that was provided by the Saudi government.

The hajj is an annual five-day ritual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, expected to be carried out at least once in the life of every Muslim. Millions of people attend the annual ritual.