JEDDAH, 29 June 2004 — A policeman died in the attempt to save residents of a burning building in the Al-Bawadi district of Jeddah, Al-Watan daily reported yesterday.
According to eyewitnesses, the officer, Mesfir Al-Amri, happened to be near the building when the fire started at 2 a.m. Alerted by the commotion, he approached and saw a woman and her children trapped inside and screaming for help. Along with other residents he entered the burning building and rescued the woman and her children.
Witnesses said Al-Amri then re-entered the building to save an elderly woman on an upper floor without waiting for firefighters to arrive. When the Civil Defense later extinguished the blaze they found Al-Amri dead of smoke inhalation.
The officer’s family have appealed for help because they lost their sole breadwinner, the paper added.
