Qatar mall blaze leaves 19 dead

A huge fire at a shopping mall in the Qatari capital Doha left 19 people dead, including 13 children, the Gulf state's government confirmed on Monday evening. Qatar's minister of state for interior affairs, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, promised a full investigation into the cause of the tragedy at Villagio Mall. He also expressed his condolences to families of those who died in the fire. A committee will be set up to examine the minimum safety requirements in buildings such as shopping malls, the ministry said in a Twitter update. Villagio Mall, a 360,000 sq m retail centre in Qatari capital Doha, was engulfed by a huge fire earlier on Monday. The victims included people from Spain, Japan, the Philippines, Benin and Arab countries not including Qatar, the officials said. The mall, which is located in the west end of the city in the Aspire Zone development, caught fire at approximately 11am local time, leading to hundreds of visitors to be evacuated. Up to 180 civil defence personnel were said to be involved in extinguishing the blaze and rescue efforts. The minister said a full inspection of the mall had been carried out and there were no reports of missing people. No casualties were initially reported, according to the Qatari Ministry of Interior’s official Twitter page, although some shoppers were said to be suffering from “suffocation”. However, by 4pm local time Doha News was reporting an eyewitness account that 12 children had died after the fire spread to a play area. In a press conference held in the city on Monday evening, Qatar's government confirmed that 19 had perished: 13 children, four teachers and two civil defence workers. A further 17 people were injured in the fire: four of them children and a number of civil defence workers. No explanation over how the fire started has yet been provided. Opened in 2006, Villagio was named one of the world’s most luxurious malls by Forbes magazine in 2008. The centre features 220 retail, entertainment and dining outlets. From Arabian Business