Civil Defense spokesman Capt. Abdullah Al-Amri told Arab News on Sunday that the second building was severely damaged and there was a chance it might collapse too.
“Investigations into the causes of the fire will start after the building is inspected to make sure it is safe for inspectors to go inside. We suspect that the second building, which contains four floors, will collapse at any time. The investigation is delayed because it is very risky to go inside,” Al-Amri said.
Hamod Al-Nomani, an official working in the building in the Baghdadiah district near Madinah Road, said his office was situated on the fourth floor. “All of my belongings inside the office are gone. All of the information is destroyed.”
Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, an official from the Alesayi group, said the fire lasted for more than 20 hours. He confirmed that no one died in the fire although six people were injured, two of whom were taken to hospital with breathing problems.
“The building contains the offices of several brand names and is the maintenance hub for Panasonic.” He added that his company is now working to transfer its employees to a new location, despite the fact the building was its main office.
Al-Ghamdi said losses were estimated at hundreds of millions of riyals. However, he said that they are still waiting for the auditing of the lost merchandise.
The outside structure of the buildings is made of steel and was built more than 40 years ago. The fire did not extend to neighboring buildings because the two buildings were surrounded by an open parking space. Over 500 employees and workers used to work at the two plazas.
Alesayi Plaza is the headquarters of consumer electronics maker Panasonic and houses more than 60 other companies. Other businesses that had offices in the towers include other Alesayi divisions, Moulinex, Rowenta, SEEB and Tefal.