7 Bangladeshi workers killed in Saudi fire

Nine people, including seven Bangladeshis, were killed in a fire at a residential building in Riyadh yesterday, said sources at Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh.

“There are at least seven Bangladeshis among the dead,” Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam Moshi told The Daily Star last night.

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The incident took place at the building, a dormitory for workers, near Riyadh in the morning when a gas cylinder exploded following an electric short circuit.   

At least eight others were injured and they were taken to a hospital in Riyadh, confirmed Nazrul Islam, deputy chief of mission at the Bangladesh embassy.

Maj Mohammed Al Hamadi, a spokesman for the civil defence of Riyadh, said the fire broke out at the entrance of the building which had no other exits, reports Khaleej Times of Saudi Arabia, quoting Xinhua news agency as saying.

Smoke inhalation was the main cause of death as well as injury and 45 out of the 54 expatriate workers living in the two-storey building were inside during the fire, he said.