Waves of shock

Waves of shock swept through the Kingdom last night as the Civil Defence carried out a quick and risky operation to rescue groups of people who were trapped in a heap of rubble following a building collapse in Salmaniya area.

There were moments of triumph as well as moments of tears. Sources said one died and nearly 40 got injured in the disaster caused by a gas cylinder explosion while tens were rescued to safety by the Civil Defence Team. Interior Ministry sources told Tribune that the incident was reported at around 7:15 pm and Civil Defence teams instantly swung into action.

“The residents in the area said they heard a loud explosion and within no time the old two-storey building began collapsing. The rescue teams rushed the injured to the Salmaniya Medical Complex, where special medical teams were formed to attend the cases. “The operation lasted for five hours. Unfortunately, one died in the disaster. Though paramedics on-site tried their best, they could not save his life.”

A few hours after the operation began, the Interior Ministry released a statement, which said, “The General Directorate of Civil Defence, in cooperation with a number of concerned departments of the Ministry of Interior, dealt with the collapse of a two-storey residential building in the Salmaniya area, with the participation of 11 civil defense mechanisms, 15 security patrols, 60 officers and 19 ambulances. “The Director-General of the General Civil Defence Department confirmed that the preliminary information indicated that the collapse of the building resulted from the explosion of a gas cylinder.” 

Speaking to Tribune, Capital Governor Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa said the authorities have begun probing the reasons that could have led to the disaster. “The Civil Defence teams have pulled almost all of them trapped out of rubble into safety. We will arrange accommodation for survivors while we are following up on the medical status of those injured.”

When asked about the threats posed by old buildings, Shaikh Hisham said there will be strict action and measures will be taken to demolish old buildings that can cause danger to the public.

Tribune also spoke to Mohammed Khalifa Al Bin Ghadeer, who was the Acting Operations Director with the Interior Ministry, who led the rescue mission. “The control room received a call at 19:23. We initially sent fire engines with 16 officers and 14 firefighters. In the first stage of the rescue operation, 26 people were rescued, all of them had suffered serious injuries.

Probe is on to find out as to what would have led to the building collapse.” Apart from the Civil Defence personnel, media members and paramedics were present during the five-hour rescue operation. “It was really frightening moments. Lucky, that majority of the victims were saved,” a resident in the area told Tribune. Public Security Chief Major-General Tariq Al Hassan visited the spot along with other senior Interior Ministry officials.