Fire in housing complex claims 11 lives in S. Arabia

Published August 31, 2015
Khobar: Firefighters pictured around a residential complex where a fire broke out on Sunday.—AFP
Khobar: Firefighters pictured around a residential complex where a fire broke out on Sunday.—AFP

DUBAI: A large fire broke out on Sunday in the basement of a sprawling residential complex in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich east, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 200, officials in the kingdom said.

The blaze began early in the morning in a multistory residential compound known as Radium in the eastern city of Khobar. The complex houses workers for state oil giant Saudi Aramco, which oversees petroleum production in the Opec powerhouse.

The company said an investigation has begun into the cause of the fire, which sent thick black smoke billowing from the pink-and-tan colored building.The Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Civil Defence said victims were of various nationalities, without elaborating.

Like many companies in the Gulf, Aramco relies heavily on foreign professionals and other migrant workers. Some of the 219 people reported injured were in critical condition, the directorate said.

Mohammed Siddique, an engineer who lives nearby, said he first saw smoke coming from the complex at around 6 am. Emergency crews struggled for hours to contain the blaze, which authorities said was under control by mid-afternoon. “The smoke was very heavy”, Siddique said.

He counted at least 30 ambulances and three helicopters responding to the fire soon after it began. Aramco said some of those hurt were treated at the scene, where an emergency command center was set up, while others were taken to company medical facilities and local hospitals.

The Radium complex is a gated community of eight six-story buildings with a total of 486 residential units as well as swimming pools and other leisure facilities, according to Aramco’s website.Siddique described the complex as relatively new and “nicely built”, with a mix of Western, Asian and Saudi residents. It is rented by Aramco and is guarded by security teams affiliated with the company, he said. Residents affected by the blaze were being moved to alternate accommodation.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...