JEDDAH: Four Saudi children died and 18 adults were hospitalized on Sunday after inhaling an unidentified gas at an Iranian hotel where they were staying.
The tragedy struck the families from Qatif while they were in their rooms on the fourth floor of the hotel. The gas had apparently seeped in through the ventilators, according to reports.
A source said the Saudi Consulate in Mashhad, in northeast Iran, evacuated the Saudi families to nearby hotels and was following up on the incident with the Iranian authorities.
The deceased were Dima Abdul Ghani Al-Fakhr, 13, and her brother Hassan, three, and two babies, Haider Ali Qasem and Hussein Ali Al-Awami. Abdul Ghani Al-Fakhr and his wife are in intensive care at a local hospital. The kin of the victims have taken steps to bring their bodies home.
Saudi Acting Consul General in Iran Abdullah Hamrani said the condition of the 18 patients is stable, although they have been admitted to a local hospital’s intensive care unit as a precautionary measure.
He said blood samples have been taken for tests, with results likely to be known after 12 hours.
Abdul Karim Al-Anki, father of one of the victims, said he had smelled something foul on Sunday night in his room. “We informed the hotel reception, but they did not take it seriously, saying that the smell was coming from the hotel kitchen.” A few minutes later his son felt nausea and succumbed to the fumes, he said.
4 Saudi kids die from ‘gas’ at Iran hotel
