MANAMA: Three Bangladeshi workers were killed in a fire that broke out early yesterday in a two-story residential building in the village of Jid Hafs on the outskirts of Bahrain’s capital, Manama.
The three workers were pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining severe burns in the blaze at the house where low-income expatriate workers live.
According to preliminary information, seven workers were rushed to the state run Salmaniya Medical Complex and treated for burns.
However, at least 17 other people, all believed to hail from Bangladesh, managed to escape the building unharmed before it was engulfed by fire and smoke. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Later, police cordoned off the building, while Civil Defense officials extinguished the fire. The building was later demolished by government officials, as a result of which, several workers were left homeless.
“We are waiting for medical and police reports to follow up on the case. In addition, we are trying to locate the dead workers’ sponsors as we plan to file a case for compensation,” said Mohammed Ibrahim, second secretary at the Bangladesh Embassy.
Welfare officers at the embassy were following up on those who were injured. “We are also providing shelter and food to the workers who have now become homeless,” said Ibrahim.
Municipal Councilors in the past had predicted disasters in the capital as 87 percent of houses in Manama were turned into labor camps, and they flouted health and safety regulations.
The Manama Municipal Council in 2006 had referred a proposal on labor camps to the Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs.
According to the proposal, labor camps would be shifted to special locations away from residential areas in the five governorates.
Bangladeshis form the second largest expatriate community in Bahrain with over 90,000 workers employed in the island’s booming construction sector.
— With input from agencies
