Residents at the tower in Seef hit on the first night of Iran’s strikes are still recovering from the shock, with some trying to come back in order to get important documents as they settle into their temporary accommodation.
The Breaker Tower was hit during a drone strike on Saturday and residents were forced to evacuate as the ensuing fire spread rapidly on the east-facing side of the building.
Yesterday, a handful of residents visited the building in order to pick up personal effects and see the damage to the building in daylight.
“My apartment on the 20th floor has been completely destroyed,” resident Moayyed Mohammed, 40, who lived in the building for the last three years, told the GDN.
“When the strike happened, luckily, I was in Saar at my sister’s home for futoor (the fast-breaking meal at the end of the day during Ramadan) and I saw on the news that the building had been hit.
“I am staying with her now, but I came back to get some important documents.
“While everything-else is burned, luckily the fireproof safe, in which my documents were kept, is intact and I’m waiting for the company that installed it to come and open it.”
Inside the building, the smell of burned furniture engulfed most floors.
A penthouse on the 33rd floor of the building was being cleared out by contractors, who called it ‘one of the best penthouses in the building and Bahrain’.
However, now, the panoramic window in one of the bedrooms has been blown out and the luxurious bed that once sat in the room is completely incinerated, leaving just the springs.
Black soot covered nearly everything within the luxurious apartment, which was approximately 500 square metres in size, according to the builder and operator Bin Faqeeh Real Estate Investment Company.
Fortunately, workers in the area reported that the apartment’s residents were not at home when the strike happened. However, signs of domestic bliss, from a guitar in a living room to pink slippers near one of the bedrooms, punctuated the extent of the devastation.
According to the workers on-site, an apartment of this size and stature commanded a monthly rental sum of up to BD4,000.
According to Bin Faqeeh’s website, the 34-storey building had three penthouses, on the 31st, 32nd and 33rd floors, as well as 50 one-bedroom and 50 two-bedroom units.
An apartment on the 28th floor appeared to be the epicentre of the destruction, with wires and concrete strewn all over the place and a stunning view of Manama that once was behind panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows.
There was also a hole in the floor which opened into the 27th storey, showing how powerful the impact of the drone was.
On the ground floor of the building, Sedar Curtains occupies the solitary retail unit.
Yesterday, the owner and workers were permitted to return and assess the extent of the damage.
“We are lucky that the shop wasn’t damaged but it’s heart-breaking to see the building like this,” business owner Mohammed Sedar told the GDN.
Although there were some cars parked near the building, most of the vehicles badly damaged by debris appeared to have been parked next to a nearby hotel.
In a statement posted yesterday on their official social media channel, Bin Faqeeh announced updates regarding procedures to restore the building to its original condition.
“As part of our commitment to transparency and continuous communication with the owners of ‘The Breaker’, Bin Faqeeh Real Estate Investment Company confirms that it will review the official technical reports once issued by the relevant authorities following the completion of damage assessments,” the Instagram post noted.
“Our engineering team, along with all concerned departments, will extend full support in coordination with the Owners Association to ensure the works are carried out efficiently and the building is restored to its original condition at the earliest possible time.
“Your trust is valued and our commitment remains steadfast.”
The GDN previously reported that residents affected by the attack have been offered alternate and temporary housing.
The day after the attack, Bin Faqeeh asserted that it was ‘committed to providing alternative and temporary housing during this time’.
“We invite residents in need of temporary accommodation to contact us directly,” the company had said, in a statement. “The safety and well-being of everyone remain our utmost priority.”
When reached for comment yesterday, company representative Abdulrahman Awadh told the GDN that affected residents who reached out to Bin Faqeeh were being offered an alternate residence in Durrat Al Bahrain.
Concerned residents can call Mr Awadh at 32200083, Mohammed Jaffar at 32200013 and Yasser Al Mulla at 32200392 for further details of the support available.
On Saturday, the Interior Ministry had said that three buildings were damaged in Manama and Muharraq due to drone attacks and debris from an intercepted missile.
The first of these buildings was the Era View Tower in Hoora, where the fire was contained and an official from the company said that no one had been seriously injured during the attack, and photographs showed that vehicles behind the building had been damaged by falling debris.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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