Firemen bravely battled flames for hours in a multi-storey building under construction in Hoora yesterday.
Twenty-eight people, who were working inside the building when the blaze broke out, were rescued by the Civil Defence while nearby hotels were evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Flames erupted at around 9.30am and 11 fire engines and support vehicles were deployed to the scene immediately to extinguish the fire that had spread to several floors.
“The Civil Defence used a crane to rescue 13 individuals that were trapped in the building while another 15 people were helped out of the entrance,” an official on the scene told the GDN.
“Three people sustained leg injuries but there have been no fatalities, thank God.
“Nearby hotels were also evacuated as a precautionary measure due to the heavy smoke that were spreading from the affected building.”
The GDN team present on site witnessed firemen battling the flames for hours while brigades arrived to provide assistance and water.
Trapped
Ambulances were also on the scene to treat the injured. “We found seven individuals that were trapped on various floors and moved them to the roof to protect them from smoke inhalation,” a Civil Defence officer told the GDN.
“We provided them with water, food and shade in the open-air roof as we couldn’t evacuate them due to the heavy smoke and we wanted to keep them safe from the smoke.
“We took this action to ensure the smoke was cleared prior to lowering them from the building.”
Officials from the Capital Governorate Police Directorate, the Civil Defence and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) were present on the scene.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Meanwhile, eye-witness Myles O’Connor told the GDN that the smoke rapidly spread from the third floor to the other floors.
“There was a group of people trapped on the top roof, hankering down to keep out of the billowing smoke,” he added.
“On a lower level roof, five or six people were climbing onto a wall with a long drop down and it looked at one point they were considering jumping.
“Luckily, the Civil Defence brought lift equipment to get them down safely and the people on the very top had to wait until the Civil Defence put out the fire enough to be able to reach the roof.
“I called 999 and made sure they knew there were people on both roofs.
“They must have been absolutely terrified.”
reem@gdnmedia.bh
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