The fire that began shortly after Maghreb prayers was brought to some sort of control by firefighters. They were still battling the blaze much after midnight. The raging fire virtually engulfed the Plaza's twin towers.
Alesayi Plaza is the headquarters of consumer electronics maker Panasonic and houses more than 60 other companies. Among the other companies that had offices in these towers are the other Alesayi divisions, Moulinex, Rowenta, SEEB and Tefal.
No casualties were reported, but eyewitnesses claimed that four people were hurt. This could not be independently confirmed.
People, mostly those working in the offices housed in the Plaza, were seen milling around the area in the hope that the inferno that had spread across the two towers would be extinguished quickly and the towers would be saved.
But as the time wore on, and the Civil Defense personnel calling on all their resources to first quell the fire from spreading before bringing under control, their hopes of a quick end to the tragedy were dashed.
The firefighters sought the help of Civil Defense choppers to fight the fire. Eyewitnesses said they heard sounds of explosion from a distance. This could be attributed to some of the electronic goods exploding.
Arab News repeatedly tried to contact Civil Defense officials, but got no response. By 1 a.m. the fire was smoldering and firefighters had managed to prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings.
The Alesayi Plaza is situated in the Baghdadiah West district near Madinah Road.
