JEDDAH: An Indian national suffocated to death and five others suffered slight burns because of a fire that broke out in a residential building in Al-Balad District in the city center Wednesday. Civil Defense firefighters extinguished the fire that destroyed a wooden-ceiling apartment in a six-story building where Indian workers were living. The authorities evacuated the building and the injured were taken to hospital. Major Abdullah Al-Amri, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Makkah Province, said the fire was in one apartment only. “It started in one room and reached the others while the residents were sleeping. When they woke up the fire was already blocking the way to the door and the windows were locked with chains, so they were forced to stay inside,” he said.
