Accusations fly over Saudi hospital fire that killed 24

A fire at a hospital in Saudi Arabia has killed 25 people and injured 107, the country’s civil defence agency said.

Jizan is a port city of 70,000 people, on the southwestern tip of the Saudi peninsula. This tweet not only comes as a relief for the relatives of the Indians stuck in then fire that was doused, but also for the Saudi authorities who had tried their best to secure all the patients. A few weeks later hundreds of pilgrims were crushed in a stampede during the annual hajj.

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani yesterday sent a cable to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressing deep condolences and honest sympathy over the victims of a fire that broke out at Jizan General Hospital.

It says an investigation is under way to find out the cause of the blaze.

Jazan is located near the border with Yemen, about 927 kilometers (576 miles) southwest of the capital Riyadh.

Alriyadh daily quoted a civil defence spokesman as saying the agency was alerted of the fire at 2:00am on Thursday. Photos released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency showed that the blaze had badly damaged some of the rooms in the hospital.

Thursday’s fire sparked a wave of criticism among social media users who complained that Jizan province, especially its hospitals, suffers from inadequate infrastructure. “Maybe this catastrophe could put the spotlight on the disastrous situation of hospitals in Jazan …”

“The disaster at Jazan General Hospital is the result of great negligence and the health ministry and health minister specifically and the hospital administration, interior ministry, and civil defense are all responsible before God”, said another.