Flames, smoke engulf Saudi shopping mall

Civil Defense vehicles pumping water to extinguish the fire that broke out in Dhahran Mall on Friday. (Supplied/Saudi Civil Defense)

A corridor between several shops in Dhahran Mall, as it appeared, minutes after the fire was extinguished on Friday. (Supplied/Saudi Civil Defense)

Two firefighters take part in extinguishing the fire that broke out on Friday in Dhahran Mall. (Supplied/Saudi Civil Defense)

• Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the Mall of Dhahran in Alkhobar
• An eyewitness said that members of a Civil Defense team plucked several pets to safety from an animal care store in the mall

RIYADH: A Saudi shopping mall was on Friday engulfed in smoke after a blaze broke out in the early hours of the morning.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the Mall of Dhahran in Alkhobar — the largest commercial market in the Eastern Province — as emergency crews battled to contain the fire.
Officials said no one was hurt in the blaze, although a number of animals were rescued from a pet store.
Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Hammadi, spokesman for the Civil Defense, told Arab News that a Civil Defense team from Dhahran, supported by other firefighters and airborne assistance, had by midday managed to extinguish the fire.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Civil Defense said that initial investigations pointed to the blaze starting in the mall’s roof insulators before flames spread to other areas of the 220,000-square-meter shopping center.
An eyewitness said that members of a Civil Defense team plucked several pets to safety from an animal care store in the mall.
Saudi journalist Hussein Al-Falih, who lives close to the mall, said: “I hadn’t got out of the neighborhood before I saw flames and fumes coming from the mall’s building.”
He added that smoke began to gradually envelop the mall — managed by the Arabian Centers Co. — reducing visibility in the immediate area. “I saw many vehicles from the Civil Defense, and there were helicopters flying over the mall.”