‘Bangladeshis suffer loss’ as Saudi mall catches fire

A Saudi Arabian mall caught fire on Tuesday, damaging 200 shops owned mostly by Bangladeshi expatriates, a witness has said.

The fire at Riyadh’s Batha Market was reported around 6:30pm, said Hasan Talukdar, a Bangladeshi salesman from the mall.

“I went there as soon as I heard about the fire. But the fire service is not letting anyone go near the mall,” he said.

The fire-fighters were able to contain the flames by 8:00pm, he said. 

He said he lived in a building 100 metres away from the mall.

Fire-fighters are assuming electric fault started the fire, he said.