11 killed in blaze at Saudi complex

More than 200 of ‘ various nationalities’ hurt, some critically

A fire at an international residential complex Sunday in the Saudi Arabian city of Khobar killed 11, injured more than 200 and sent scores more fleeing to rooftops for helicopter rescue.

Arab News, citing Saudi civil defense officials, said the injured were of “various nationalities” and that some were in critical condition. A preliminary investigation showed the fire started in the basement of a building at the Radium compound rented by energy giant Saudi Aramco.

“Cars and furniture caught fire in the basement of one of the towers, heavy smoke billowed, obstructing rescue,” the Saudi Civil Defense Ministry tweeted.

Local engineer Mohammed Siddique told the Associated Press he saw smoke from the complex around 6 a. m. “I saw at least 30 ambulances and three helicopter,” Siddique said.

The Radium Residential Complex is a gated community of eight, six- story buildings with 486 apartments. It also contains shops, gyms and a movie theater.

Saudi Aramco is the stateowned petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. Aramco, which employs more than 60,000 workers in 77 countries, is the world’s largest oil company in terms of crude production and exports.

AP Firefighters race to fight a huge fire in Khobar, Saudi Arabia.