RIYADH: Two people were killed and 13 injured when walls at a university in Riyadh collapsed on Tuesday.
The outer wall and a parking roof at Almaarefa University in the north of the capital caved in before noon local time.
A Sudanese resident and a security official working at the university were killed in the collapse, Al-Ekhbariya reported.
Ten of the injured were discharged from hospital and three others were still being treated.
Saudi Civil Defense said it received a number of distress calls and, when they arrived, rescued four people from the rubble. However one of the people rescued died from their injuries.
#UPDATE: Two people were killed and 13 injured when walls at a Almaarefa University in Riyadh collapsedhttps://t.co/7JHbdC0zql pic.twitter.com/YUtsZ9jyLv
— Arab News (@arabnews) December 17, 2019
All the students and staff were evacuated from the university.
Directorate of Civil Defense spokesman in Riyadh, Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Hammadi, said the area has been cordoned off until the extent of the damage had been assessed and while investigations are completed.
The clearing operations will continue until tomorrow.
“In a case like this, it is not possible to determine when the investigation will be completed, due to the fact that there were vehicles under the parking roof that collapsed, which need to be examined,” Lt. Col. Al-Hammadi said.
Earlier, Al-Ekhbariya said heavy equipment arrived at the scene of the accident “to clear the rubble.”
The Saudi Red Crescent dispatched 16 emergency teams to assist with the rescue.
