Eleven Indians have been killed in a fire in the southern Saudi city of Najran, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed today. The ministry added that the Indian Consulate in Jeddah is providing all assistance to the families of the deceased and those injured in the tragedy.
The deceased Indians include four from Uttar Pradesh, three from Kerala, one from Bihar, one from Tamil Nadu, while the details of two others are yet to be ascertained. The victims have been identified as Gauri Shankar Gupta from Bihar, Kampalan Sathyan, Baiju Raghavan and Sreejith Kottasseri from Kerala, Murokanandan Kaliyan from Tamil Nadu, and Tabrej Khan, Ateeq Ahmed, Waseem Akram and Vakeel Ahmedfro from Uttar Pradesh. The details of the two other deceased, Mohammed Rahman and Paras Kumar Subedar are still being collected, said the Ministry of External Affairs.
The ministry added that it was sending its staff to the town and was providing "all assistance".
In addition, the details of how many have been injured are still being collected, though initial reports suggest this number to be around five. Najran is a town 900 kilometres from Jeddah. The fire broke out on Wednesday.
According to reports from Saudi Arabia, the victims were all workers in a construction company. The fire, which might have occured due to a faulty, old air conditioner, broke out in the building where they lived. Apparently, the house did not have any windows.
"Firefighters put out a blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured," the local civil defence authority said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi said, "I am aware of the fire tragedy in Najran...I have spoken to Consul General Jeddah. Our Consul General is in touch with the Governor of Najran. He is updating me on a regular basis," Swaraj said.
(With inputs from Rekha Dixit)
