Fire services were called to an area on the outskirts of Hafr Al-Batin on Thursday to tackle hundreds of discarded vehicle tires that had been deliberately set alight by unknown persons wishing to dispose them of. Thick black smoke continued to cloud the sky over the eastern industrial district of the town until the late hours of the night, as locals called on authorities to put an end to similar repeated instances. “The area needs to be kept under observation,” said one local. “They are polluting the air and causing environmental damage.” A Civil Defense official said that many car workshop employees discarded materials at sites not designated for the purpose, while unknown persons set them alight for a variety of reasons.
