Construction site catches fire, sends plume of smoke across Dafna

A construction site caught fire late this morning in the high-rise Dafna area, sending black plumes of acrid smoke into the Doha sky.

The scene of the blaze was apparently a below-ground ~~building foundation~~ parking garage between Ezdan Towers and the incomplete Al Dareen residential tower.

No injuries were immediately confirmed and traffic authorities responding to the fire said it wasn’t clear what had caused it.

Construction workers, however, said tar being put onto the concrete of the parking lot’s foundation had caught fire, which eventually spread to the adjacent Al Dareen building.

Authorities responded as the smoke was seen blowing across City Center Mall, blocking roads and temporarily shunting traffic onto the Corniche road.

Heavy winds today could only have worsened the blaze, but fire fighters had everything under control and were exiting the area by 1pm.

A number of Doha residents expressed surprise and concern about the fire online:

@wanwho: heard its a building near Ezdan and its still on the building process..I hope there no casualties inshAllah

@moha_doha: Looks like started at the bottom. Can see flames

@SudanOptimist: This looks awful RT@Noorfull @aksharawi: Fire in one of the towers in #Doha #qatar http://yfrog.com/gypdnmmhj

Perhaps the most re-tweeted reaction though, was this somewhat light-hearted take:

@blakehounshell: So a bunch of tar caught fire at a Doha construction site this AM. I expect the Syrian media to call this the start of the Qatar intifada.

It isn’t the first time the area has seen a large blaze. Just three months ago, the Ezdan Towers themselves caught fire.

This morning’s blaze could be seen for some distance. Many Doha residents caught the fire on camera, and sent their photos our way: