Some 725 Pakistani pilgrims were evacuated from a residential tower block early Thursday morning after a fire broke out at the main entrance to the building. Eyewitnesses in the Kuday district of Makkah said that firefighters were quickly on the scene to prevent the blaze from spreading beyond the ground floor as pilgrims were evacuated using cranes. Some took refuge on the roof of the eight-storey building. No pilgrims were hurt in the incident, but the building's security guard reportedly suffered smoke inhalation and was attended to at the scene. A Civil Defense Spokesman said that investigations had started into the cause of the fire, while other sources said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.
