A fire in an apartment in Abqaiq, about 80 km from Dammam, killed three expatriates late Wednesday. All of the dead, Noushad Alappuzha, Shamsudheen Anjal and Umer Palakkad were from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Apparently the deaths occurred due to suffocation. A short circuit from the compressor of the air conditioner is suspected to have been the cause of the fire. Three other Indian nationals who were in the same building escaped the fire with minor injuries. The bodies of Anjal and Palakkad will be buried here.
