JEDDAH, 29 January — About 100 shops were gutted in a fire in the Haraj market late Saturday, which reduced household furniture worth millions of riyals to ashes.
The fire, which started in a furniture shop in the largest souk in the city, at around 1 a.m., soon spread to neighboring shops. It was finally brought under control by 12 fire-fighting teams after four hours. Police have already started an investigation into the cause of the fire.
The security supervisor at the souk has ruled out the possibility that an electrical fault caused the incident, as the power-supply is disconnected every evening at 11 p.m., Al-Madinah newspaper reported. Three security guards at the souk have been detained for questioning. The owner of the market is also being interrogated.
Col. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, director of civil defense in Jeddah, said the souk — which was constructed 23 years ago — has more than 5,000 shops.
