TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - About 600 hajj pilgrims escaped a fire that broke out in a 15-storey hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said a report.
Flames were coming out from a “faulty air conditioning unit” on the eighth floor of the hotel, which was inhabited by pilgrims from Yemen and Turkey. No casualties were reported.
“All the hotel guests were evacuated as a precautionary measure by rescue teams while the fire was put out and the situation brought under control without causing any injuries or loss of life” Maj. Nayef Al-Sharif, the spokesman for the General Directorate of Civil Defense, said in Mecca, as quoted by Arab News.
By Friday, August 18, the number of Hajj pilgrims has reached more than 1 million, increasing by 24 percent when compared to the same period of last year.
TRADE ARABIA | ARAB NEWS | CHOIRUL AMINUDDIN