Prosecutions likely over Qassim building collapse

The government will find and punish those responsible for the collapse of a building under construction at Qassim University that resulted in the deaths of nine workers and injuries to six others, said Gov. Prince Faisal bin Mishaal.
He said there would be “justice” for those who lost their lives once the governorate has completed its independent probe into the incident. Accidents can occur at any time, but it was important to determine what happened so that these events do not recur, he said.
The investigating committee includes officials from the governorate, the local university, Civil Defense, security agencies, and investigation bodies. In addition, the governorate plans to set up a committee that can deal with such crises in future, Prince Faisal said.
He called on all engineers, consultants and contractors to ensure that they do everything to protect the lives and health of workers. He said there are laws to punish those failing to do so.
Meanwhile, the Civil Defense in Qassim has announced that all search and rescue operations have been completed after two missing people were pulled from the rubble.
“Search and rescue operations continued around the clock from the moment we received the communication until the work was completed,” said spokesman Col. Ibrahim Aba Al-Khail.
The collapsed ceiling of the conference hall was over 570 square meters and weighed 1,250 tons, he said. Many officers supported the Civil Defense in search and rescue operations, including individuals with cameras and heavy equipment. There were also police dogs brought in, he said.
Based on reports from investigators and field officials, 15 people were pulled from the collapsed building, of whom nine were dead and six injured severely.
Meanwhile, the company responsible, Manazel Construction, said it is continuing its own investigation to find out the exact causes of the accident and would make the results public as soon as it is completed.
The company stated that it was cooperating in the independent probe ordered by the governor.