JUBAIL, 11 October — Patients as well as medical and administrative staff of a private polyclinic here were evacuated on Wednesday after parts of its cement roof collapsed, officials and witnesses said.
Nobody was injured as a result of the fall of large cement blocks, officials and witnesses added.
Health Minister Dr. Osama Shubokshi ordered the polyclinic, which serves a large number of people in the region, be shifted to a nearby rented building. The clinic’s patients will be treated at Jubail General Hospital.
Col. Saeed Al-Malhi, director of civil defense in Jubail, told Arab News that his department ordered evacuation of the clinic when parts of its roof collapsed.
A number of workers at the clinic expressed their fear in staying inside the building after the incident.
The clinic employs 65 doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and administrators. A large number of people, including employees of various companies, visit the clinic every day for medical checkup.
Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi, director of health in the Eastern Province, said his department had urged the clinic’s owner to carry out maintenance work but he would not cooperate.
