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. “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 rare act was not the first of its kind to take place in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam — which, like other monotheistic religions, prohibits suicide. 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. Last year, a Saudi man tried to set himself on fire in front of the Kaaba — the square stone building in the centre of the mosque compound — but was stopped by security forces. 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.<doc-sep>A SUICIDAL man leapt to his death from the roof of the Great Mosque of Mecca last night in front of thousands of Muslim worshippers. Disturbing footage online shows the tragic victim diving 300 feet, as crowds gathered for Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. 3 The man is shown 300 ft above worshippers in Mecca 3 The pilgrim then leaps to his death in a disturbing suicide Saudi authorities said the foreign pilgrim died instantly after hurling himself from the roof at 9.20pm local time on Friday. A cry of horror went up amongst the pilgrims as they helplessly watched the man come crashing to the ground. Police and paramedics were seen desperately trying to revive him but could do nothing. Several local news outlets reported that the man was a 26-year-old French convert to Islam, according to the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah. 3 Worshippers gather around the victim who committed suicide at Mecca Credit: DRN Police said they are investigating the man's motives and whether there were any security breaches. A police spokesman said: "At 9.20pm a foreigner threw himself from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Makkah to the ground floor of the circumambulation nave, resulting in his immediate death. "The body was rushed to a hospital, pending the results of investigation into the incident, particularly his identity and reasons behind his behaviour, despite the erection of a strong round fence to protect people from falling down." Suicide is strictly forbidden in Islam and considered a great sin. 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The sacred structure is considered by Muslims to be the House of Allah with 1.5 million worshippers flocking to Mecca annually to touch it as part of the Hajj pilgrimage. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours<doc-sep>On Saturday, a Frenchman reportedly committed suicide by jumping from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Disturbing footage from the inside of Islam's holiest site shows the man falling as crowds gathered for Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. A cry of horror went up among the pilgrims as they helplessly watched the man fall. Local police officers and paramedics were seen desperately trying to revive the man.<doc-sep>Share: A man has committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof of the Grand Mosque in Islam's holiest city of Makkah, Saudi police said on Saturday. “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 centre of the mosque compound — but was stopped by security forces. Every year, millions of Muslim pilgrims from across the world travel to Makkah and Madina, Islam's second holiest site, also in western Saudi Arabia.<doc-sep>
WARNING: DISTURBING FOOTAGE Man commits suicide inside the Grand Mosque of Mecca housing the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, by jumping from the third floor pic.twitter.com/wzIdJ8jdL3 — DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) June 9, 2018 A man committed suicide only meters away from the Kaaba inside the Grand Mosque of Mecca, Islam's holiest site, by jumping from the third floor to the surface, where thousands of pilgrims were performing the tawaaf. 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. The man is seen jumping from over the security fence amid cries. Several Saudi news outlets reported that the man, who died immediately after hitting the ground, was a 26-year-old French citizen who converted to Islam, which regards suicide as a major sin. "A foreigner threw himself from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Mecca" to the courtyard below, "resulting in his instant death", Saudi police told the official SPA news agency later in the day. A French foreign ministry official told AFP in Paris that the dead man was French but gave no further details. 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. Previously in Feb. 2017, a man tried to kill himself inside the complex and was prevented from setting himself on fire with gasoline. 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.