Two children die in fire

MADINAH, 17 August — Two children died and other members of the same family suffered serious injuries after inhaling smoke as a massive fire hit a residential building close to a vegetable market, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported. The fire broke out in a furniture warehouse inside the building. Nobody was able to help the family caught up in the fire as all the possible exits had been locked. The civil defense department’s firefighters and rescue units rushed to the area but could not save the children. According to the paper, the children’s mother is in the intensive care unit. Brig. Mansour Al-Johani, acting director of civil defense, said the iron bars on the windows of the building had hampered the rescue operation.