Fire in Saudi Arabia hospital kills 31, injures more than 100

The Saudi officials are yet to confirm on the reasons why the fire broke out at the intensive care unit and maternity ward which are both situated on the first floor.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause, it said.

Alriyadh daily quoted a civil defence spokesman as saying the agency was alerted of the fire at 2:00am on Thursday.

The injured had been transferred to private and general hospitals in the area, it added. At least 25 people were killed and 107 people injured. In August, 10 people were killed and 259 wounded in a fire at a residential complex rented by oil giant Saudi Aramco in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

The blaze badly damaged the interior, charring walls and leaving wreckage dangling from the ceiling.

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. “Even though we have little hope” for this, wrote another user.

Earlier this week a rocket fired from Yemen towards Jazan was intercepted by Saudi Arabia, reports say, although there is no indication Thursday’s fire is related to the conflict.

The kingdom has also been struggling with multiple pressures.

Saad al-Muqrin, the deputy governor of Jazan, appeared to place some blame for the deaths at the hospital on people who rushed to the scene to help, according to remarks reported in Al Sharq Al Awsat.