Blaze in Qatar’s Al Sailiya area leaves many workers homeless (updated)

  • Shabina S. Khatri
    •

    A large fire in Al Sailiya has left dozens of workers homeless after reducing through their accommodation to ashes Thursday afternoon, according to local media reports.

    The fire took place during the midday work ban, and many of the men were sleeping in the labor camp when it broke out, the Peninsula reports.

    Many rushed out of their rooms and escaped unharmed, but lost their possessions in the blaze. The newspaper quoted one laborer as saying:

    “There is so much of diesel spilled around this area. Even a casual handling of a burning cigarette butt can trigger a big fire in this hot weather,” he said.

    According to the Ministry of Interior, which tweeted shortly before 3pm yesterday, there were no injuries:

    When the blaze broke out, plumes of smoke could be seen by residents in the Industrial Area, off of the Expressway and near Aspire Zone:

    The cause of the fire, which began around 1pm, remains unclear.

    This is the latest in a series of blazes Qatar has seen this summer, many of them caused by short circuits from faulty air conditioning units.

    Thoughts?