RIYADH: A Saudi shopping mall was on Friday engulfed in smoke after a blaze broke out in the early hours of the morning.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the Mall of Dhahran in Alkhobar — the largest commercial market in the Eastern Province — as emergency crews battled to contain the fire.
Officials said no one was hurt in the blaze, although a number of animals were rescued from a pet store.
Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Hammadi, spokesman for the Civil Defense, told Arab News that a Civil Defense team from Dhahran, supported by other firefighters and airborne assistance, had by midday managed to extinguish the fire.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Civil Defense said that initial investigations pointed to the blaze starting in the mall’s roof insulators before flames spread to other areas of the 220,000-square-meter shopping center.
An eyewitness said that members of a Civil Defense team plucked several pets to safety from an animal care store in the mall.
Saudi journalist Hussein Al-Falih, who lives close to the mall, said: “I hadn’t got out of the neighborhood before I saw flames and fumes coming from the mall’s building.”
He added that smoke began to gradually envelop the mall — managed by the Arabian Centers Co. — reducing visibility in the immediate area. “I saw many vehicles from the Civil Defense, and there were helicopters flying over the mall.”
Flames, smoke engulf Saudi shopping mall
https://arab.news/bwpdw
Flames, smoke engulf Saudi shopping mall
- Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the Mall of Dhahran in Alkhobar
- An eyewitness said that members of a Civil Defense team plucked several pets to safety from an animal care store in the mall
Pioneering electric bus service takes to the road in Makkah
- The bus rapid transit project, a system designed to have higher capacity and reliability than conventional bus services, is said to be the first of its kind in the Kingdom
- The vehicles operate in dedicated bus lanes within a network that includes two main bus stations and 11 stops along the route connecting them
MAKKAH: A pioneering electric bus service took to the road in Makkah this week.
Electromin, the developer and operator of the service in partnership with Umm Al-Qura for Development and Construction, said it is expected to serve more than 125 million passengers over the next 15 years, while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by more than 31,500 tonnes compared with traditional vehicles.
The bus rapid transit project, a system designed to have higher capacity and reliability than conventional bus services, is said to be one of the first of its kind in the Kingdom. It was inaugurated on Wednesday by Amr Al-Dabbagh, chairperson of Al-Dabbagh Group; Samir Nawar, managing director of Petromin; and Yasser Abu Ateeq, CEO of Umm Al-Qura.
Electromin, a subsidiary of Petromin specializing in energy and mobility solutions, said the new service, which forms part of the Masar Destination mixed-use real estate development project in Makkah, is one the first transport networks of its kind in the country, and represents a significant shift toward a cleaner, more efficient urban transport model.
It operates in dedicated bus lanes, connecting key hubs within Masar and providing safe, reliable and environmentally friendly transportation for residents and visitors, the company added. The network includes two main bus stations and 11 stops along the route connecting them. It has been designed to serve more than 5 million visitors and pilgrims annually, and to be easily accessible to all users.
Operators say the service is designed as a foundation for Makkah’s future transportation system, through its integration with the broader Masar project, which includes pedestrian walkways, more than 5,000 parking spaces, metro services and other urban infrastructure.
