Overnight hospital fire in Saudi kills 31, injures over 100

A fire that broke out overnight at a hospital in a southwestern province of Saudi Arabia killed at least 31 people and injured over 100, the Saudi government said on Thursday.

The blaze broke out on Thursday around the hospital’s intensive care, maternity and neonatal care wards in the port city of Jizan in the province by the same name. The cause remained unknown by Thursday afternoon, said Saudi Civil Defense spokesman Maj. Yahya bin Abdullah al-Qahtani. 

There was no immediate breakdown of the victims or further details available. Later in the day, the kingdom’s health ministry put the death toll at 25, saying 123 people were injured. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled but it is not unusual in the aftermath of large disasters.

The health ministry said in a statement those injured were transferred to hospitals nearby, and that an investigation is underway to find out the causes of the fire. All babies in incubators were rescued, the health ministry said.

The kingdom has suffered a number of large-scale accidents this year, including a crane collapse in Mecca that killed 111 and a stampede that killed at least 2,411 during the hajj pilgrimage in September, according to an Associated Press count. 

Meanwhile, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said there were no Indian casualties in the fire incident today at a hospital in Saudi Arabia where 30 Indian nurses were on duty.

 “Unfortunate fire incident in Jizan Hospital, Saudi Arabia with many casualties. Our Consulate reports from Jeddah that all Indians are safe,” Swaraj tweeted.