MADINAH, 9 January 2003 — A 45-year-old Saudi woman died and four other people were injured when a two-story residential building collapsed here Tuesday.
Rescue teams from the Civil Defense and the Red Crescent Society quickly arrived at the scene on Al-Salam Street.
The injured were rushed to King Fahd General Hospital, and an informed source told Arab News that the dead woman had suffocated.
Lt. Col. Ali Atallah Al-Otaibi, director of the Civil Defense in Madinah, told Arab News that a committee has been set up look into the reasons behind the collapse.
Otaibi pointed out that locals had already reported that the building seemed to have become unstable as a result of construction work, which was being carried out nearby.
Maj. Gen. Yousuf Al-Binayyan, director of police in the region, commended the professionalism of rescue workers who saved those who had been trapped in the debris.
There have been two other similar incidents in Madinah recently. The collapse of a building in the Maghareba district resulted in the death of a girl. And a six-story building also suddenly collapsed, although no one was hurt.
