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Three Indonesians among hospitalized in Saudi fire
Three Indonesians were among hundreds who were hospitalized after a fire engulfed parts of a residential compound in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich east and killed 10 people on Sunday, a diplomatic official has said
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hree Indonesians were among hundreds who were hospitalized after a fire engulfed parts of a residential compound in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich east and killed 10 people on Sunday, a diplomatic official has said.
The three, a husband, wife and child, were treated at John Hopkins Hospital in the city of Khobar for inhalation problems, according to the head of the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh's social and information services, Ahrul Tsani Fathurrahman.
'They have been discharged from the hospital and moved to Le Meridien Hotel for the time being,' he said as quoted by tempo.co.
The Associated Press reported that three Canadians, a Pakistani and a Nigerian were among 10 killed in the blaze that began early Sunday in a sprawling, multistory housing complex in Khobar that accommodates workers for state oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Col. Ali bin Saad al-Qahtani, a civil defense spokesman for the kingdom's Eastern Province, provided the update in comments carried by the official Saudi Press Agency early Monday.
A total of 10 people had died, al-Qahtani said, and 259 had been injured in the blaze. The civil defense directorate previously said 11 people had been killed.
Al-Qahtani did not provide the nationalities of the other five people killed.
Diana Khaddaj, a spokeswoman for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department, said consular officers in Riyadh were in touch with Saudi authorities "to gather additional information and are providing consular assistance to those affected and their families during this difficult time".
Of those injured, 179 have since left the hospital after receiving treatment.
A preliminary investigation suggested a short circuit in an electrical transformer in the building's basement sparked the blaze, which quickly spread through 130 cars parked in the basement, al-Qahtani said.
