Fire at Qatar Mall Kills 19!

[robbalvey]

Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/middleeast/fire-at-qatar-mall-kills-19-including-13-children.html?_r=1

 

Nineteen people, including 13 children, died Monday in a fire that raged through a high-end shopping mall in Doha, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said.

 

The fire started late in the morning and centered around a children’s play area in the Villaggio Mall, a glittering collection of shops and indoor canals in Doha, the capital, frequented by expatriates in the oil-rich emirate. The ministry did not immediately provide the nationalities of those killed. Local news reports said no Qatari children were among the dead, and Reuters said four of the children who died in the fire were from Spain. French media reported one French child died in the fire.

 

Thick gray smoke could be seen pouring from the building as emergency workers moved to contain the blaze. Photos posted online showed people who appeared to be injured, rescue workers clambering across a smoke-shrouded roof and a man in shirtsleeves holding a young child whose fate was not certain.

 

The fire at the mall, known for pricey shops, gondoliers and an indoor ice rink, raised troubling questions about the safety of even the most opulent buildings in the booming city, where shopping centers both provide air-conditioned respite from the desert heat and serve as de facto town squares for expatriates and wealthy Qataris. The deadly blaze prompted authorities to announce the creation of a special committee to monitor building safety standards.

 

Al Jazeera, the Doha-based satellite broadcaster, carried coverage of the fire, but for hours there were scant reports on the state-run Qatar TV, according to residents. Frantic messages appeared on social media sites throughout the day, with some reposting messages pleading for information on children at the mall’s Gympanzee play area.

 

The interior ministry offered little information until an evening news conference, while misinformation swirled online. “All are requested not spread rumours as it will create panic among people,” the ministry said in a statement hours before the news conference. “Be responsible persons and cooperate with security departments.”

 

The cause of the fire, which also injured 17 people, was still under investigation, the ministry said in the evening. Many of the injured were identified as members of the civil defense team responding to the fire. Four teachers and two firefighters were among the dead, the ministry said.

 

“There don’t seem to have been any fire alarms or sprinklers at the mall,” a relative of a 2-year-old killed in the fire told Reuters.

 

Qatar, a Connecticut-sized sprout of land jutting into the Persian Gulf with a native population of 225,000, is home to more than 1.5 million expatriates from Europe, Asia and the United States.

 

Still trying to confirm if the "Children's Play Area" is the amusement park or not, but here are pictures of what the park looks like....

 

 

 

Please post more if you can find any information on this!

Edited May 28, 2012 by robbalvey

[QueerRudie]

How horrific- and in so many ways.

 

May G-D bring peace to their families.

[Airtime&Gravity]

According to the BBC, the fire occurred at a nursery in the mall.

 

The blaze started at about 11:30 local time (08:00 GMT) on Monday, Qatari Interior Minister Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

 

It is believed to have started at the centre's Gympanzee nursery, and firefighters reportedly had to break through the roof to get to trapped children when a staircase collapsed.

 

But the firefighters were too late to save seven young girls and six boys who died with four of their teachers, reports say.

 

Link

 

Tragic event indeed.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Airtime&Gravity

[deathbydinn]

CBS reports that the fire trapped the children and people trying to rescue them in a "child care center" which I would take to be more of a day care center rather than the park.

 

At least some of the victims died as rescuers struggled to reach a child care center at the Villaggio mall in the capital Doha, according to Qatar's Minister of State for Interior Affairs, Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.

 

Four of the children killed were Spanish citizens living in the small Arab emirate, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said. It did not identify the children, citing Spanish privacy regulations.

 

"We tried our best, but when we got there, the children were trapped inside. We are very sorry for what happened. We tried as much as we could to save these people," Sheik Abdullah told reporters in Doha.

 

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57442528/qatar-mall-fire-kills-19-including-13-children/

[SharkTums]

Looking at the map, the park is most likely unaffected as it's on the other side of an Ice Rink.

 

Tragic story though, the Gympanzee place actually looks like a great preschool for expats.

[gisco]

What a tragedy. ALways so sad when kids are involved.

[shivtim]

A 2 year old girl who died in the fire was from Atlanta. How awful. She went to a pre-school just a few blocks from my home. It's amazing how small and connected the world is sometimes.

 

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlanta-toddler-among-victims-1448755.html

[dubaidave]

Elissa is right. The park is in the far corner and I don't think it was damaged. The pay area was more in the middle I believe.