RIYADH, 7 October — Three Saudi children, aged between two and nine, died of suffocation following a fire that hit their house here on Friday morning, reports said.
The fire, caused by a candle which was put on a sofa, broke out at about 3 a.m. The mother tried her best to save the children, as the father was not aware of the fire.
Deena, 9, Abdullah, 7, and Anoud, 2, died as their parents as well as Civil Defense officers failed to rescue them from the intense smoke caused by the fire.
According to Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, the collapse of a decorative roof as a result of the fire obstructed rescue efforts of the children’s mother.
Saud Al-Muteb, the father, was chatting with his friends on the ground floor of the building, at the time of the fire. By the time he came to know about the tragic incident it was too late.
Civil Defense officers took the children to nearby hospitals for treatment but the three were declared dead as a result of suffocation.
Muteb, a Passport Department officer, and his wife have not yet recovered from the shock caused by the loss of their three children.
The children were sleeping on the third floor while their mother was on the second floor. She rushed to the children’s room when the smoke entered the second floor.
Muteb tried to enter the children’s room several times to save them but the billowing smoke prevented his efforts.
