A Nigerian, three Canadians and a Pakistani were among those
killed in a fire that engulfed parts of a residential compound in the kingdom's
oil-rich east, a Saudi official said.
The blaze began early Sunday in a sprawling, multistory
housing complex in the city of Khobar that accommodates workers for state oil
giant Saudi Aramco.
Col. Ali bin Saad al-Qahtani, a civil defense spokesman for
the kingdom's Eastern Province, provided the update in comments carried by the
official Saudi Press Agency early Monday.
He said a total of 10 people died and 259 were injured in
the blaze. The civil defense directorate previously said 11 people were killed.
Al-Qahtani did not provide the nationalities of the other
five people killed.
Of those injured, 179 have left the hospital after receiving
treatment.
A preliminary investigation suggests a short circuit in an
electrical transformer in the building's basement sparked the blaze, which
quickly spread through 130 cars parked in the basement, he said.
The complex, known as Radium, 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.
AP
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