Arab News

RIYADH, 23: A fire in a residential apartment building in the capital’s Al-Faisaliah district killed ten members of a Saudi family and injured three others yesterday, the Interior Ministry said.

The blaze broke out in the morning while the residents were asleep in the house, ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said.

The victims, aged between eight months and 28 years, choked to death while sleeping. Another three people suffered the effects of smoke inhalation and were transferred to a hospital, Turki said.

Six of the victims were aged less than 12 years, Turki added. According to a senior official at the Riyadh Civil Defense Department, the fire broke out at approximately 10.30 a.m. and was reported by a bystander who saw heavy smoke coming out of the building. Five Civil Defense units immediately rushed to the scene in addition to two ambulances of the Saudi Red Crescent Society.

“Initial investigations show that the fire broke out in the guest room where the furniture caught fire and then spread to other rooms,” Civil Defense spokesman Capt. Abdullah Al-Qafari said.

Smoke from burning of furniture stuffing can kill an adult within four minutes, said the spokesman, adding that the investigation into the cause of the fire was continuing. When asked whether the fire was accidental or an act of arson, Al-Qafari said it was “too early to determine.”

Al-Qafari stressed the importance of home fire detectors, adding that generally smoke inhalation and suffocation were the main causes of death in fires all over the world.

In another incident yesterday, two children died of suffocation and their mother was admitted to a local hospital when a fire broke out in their apartment in Al-Majmaah area, the Civil Defense said.

A spokesman said the investigation was ongoing in order to determine the cause of the fire. The ages of the children were not given.