- JEDDAH: The owner of a building that collapsed in Jeddah's Al-Baghdadiyah district on Friday killing two women has been held responsible for adding an additional floor to the structure without a license.
"The building was 15 by 10 square meters and was located in the Al-Baghdadiyah district, north of King Khaled Street and south of Madaris Street. It collapsed due to the owners attempt to build another floor without a license," said Khalid Zaini, coordinator for the committee overseeing uninhabitable buildings at the Jeddah municipality.
He added that the building had been classed as uninhabitable and that the owner is being held responsible. The Jeddah municipality has classed 8,000 buildings across the city as unfit for living.
Zaini added that the committee has also issued notices and warnings to more than 3,000 buildings in Jeddah.
“The municipality is currently in the process of sending notices to more than 1,000buildings. The Saudi Electricity Company has also been asked to disable power in other buildings,something that is necessary to save lives,” he said. The committee overseeing uninhabitable buildings comprises officials from the Jeddah Municipality, the Jeddah Traffic Department,the Civil Defense, the Saudi Electricity Company and the Saudi Social Affairs Department.
Meanwhile, health authorities have launched an investigation after medicine and medical equipment were found in the rubble of the four-storey building.
Dr. Sami Badawood,director of health affairs in Jeddah,said the medical bills, receipts and business cards of a medical establishment were also found in the rubble, and that the results of the investigation will be forwarded to the concerned authorities. He added that the bodies of the two women, both Somalis,are at King Abdul Aziz Hospital,which along with Al-Thaqr Hospital, was on high alert to treat people injured in the collapse.
Dr. Mahmoud Abdul Jawad, director of the Department of Medical Licenses at the Department of Health Affairs, told Arab News that the person on whose name the medicine was issued has been summoned for questioning to ascertain whether he had permission to store them there.He added that the quantity of the medicine was not large.
— With input from Muhammad Humaidan
