Congestion hampers rescue work

“I want the media to highlight the issue of overcrowding at accident sites, which makes our job more difficult,” said Brig. Abdullah Al-Jeddawi, the director of Civil Defense operations in Jeddah.
The problem is exacerbated in areas such as alley-riddled downtown Jeddah, where even streets used by vehicles are barely wide enough for ambulances or other heavy vehicles — with or without dozens of bystanders.
The problem was exposed over the past three days as responders to the building collapse had to devote vital resources to crowd control.
Al-Jeddawi also asked local police to help out in opening the way for the big rigs, like Saudi Red Crescent vehicles and the fire trucks used by Civil Defense.
“I urge authorities to assist Civil Defense officers to reach accidents sites as quickly as possible,” he said. "Sometimes we face traffic gridlock and we need the police to clear the way.”
Police, he added, should be proactive in crowd control in the vicinity of accident sites.
“Sometimes they (bystanders) get too close to the accident site,” said the official. “Our attention is focused on the rescue and not on continually pushing people away.”
With regard to the accident that killed at least six children and injured eight residents and 10 Civil Defense rescuers, Al-Jeddawi said the owner of the building was scheduled to be questioned by Civil Defense.
The cause of the accident has been blamed on the poor state of the building coupled with excessive weight possibly caused in part by the numerous blue water cisterns that were placed on the roof by water-hoarding residents. He said that most of the buildings in the area are over 50 years old and in poor condition.
Meanwhile, the municipality is slated to request Saudi Electricity Co. cut off power to approximately 6,000 buildings in 55 neighborhoods throughout the city in order to help get people to vacate these buildings.
The municipality estimated that about 8,000 structures must be demolished at a cost of SR26 million.