DHAHRAN, 29 July — A fire broke out at 10 am in the HAK Labor Housing Compound here but no one was injured as all the laborers were at work. The nine one-floor buildings that were eventually engulfed by the blaze, were being leased from HAK by Al Waha Group. Thick black smoke from the fire was visible at the Al Khobar corniche, 8 kms from the housing compound.
The camp housed approximately 300 laborers, mostly Indian and Pakistani workers. All the belongings of the laborers living in the nine buildings went up in flames and as nightfall approached the company was scrambling to arrange alternate accommodatio
There was some confusion early on when the Al Waha Group tried to keep the fire under control in their portion of the camp. Maintenance crews servicing buildings in other areas of the labor camp, not leased to Al Waha, were not informed of the fire. It was only when a member of the HAK group returning to the camp noticed the blaze that the maintenance workers learned of the danger and evacuated their portion of the compound.
The fire was not brought under control until 3 p.m. The cause of the blaze was still unknown.
