Persons from UP, Kerala, Bihar, TN among 11 killed in Saudi fire

Of the 11 Indians killed in a fire in a Saudi Arabian city on Wednesday, four were from Uttar Pradesh, three from Kerala and one each from Bihar and Tamil Nadu, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

While Tabrej Khan, Ateeq Ahmad, Waseem Akram and Vakeel Ahmad hailed from Uttar Pradesh, Kamalapan Sathyan, Baiju Raghavan and Sreejith Kottassseri were from Kerala, and Gauri Shankar Gupta was from Bihar and Morokanandan Kaliyan from Tamil Nadu, MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

Citing authorities, the Saudi Gazette reported that 11 migrant labourers died of asphyxiation in Najran on Wednesday in a fire that engulfed the windowless house they shared.

"Firefighters put out the blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured," the report quoted Najran Civil Defence spokesman Abdullah Al-Farie as saying.

Najran is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with volatile Yemen.

Baglay said that details of two others killed - Paras Kumar Subedar and Mohammad Waseem Azizur Rahaman - as also of those injured were being ascertained.

He said that all assistance is being extended by the Indian Consulate in Jeddah.

On Wednesday night, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that 10 Indian nationals lost their lives and six others were injured in the fire tragedy in Najran.

"I have spoken to Consul General Jeddah. Najran is 900 Km from Jeddah. Our staff is rushing by the first flight available," she stated.

"Our Consul General is in touch with the Governor of Najran. He is updating me on regular basis."

--IANS

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