Doha tower blaze due to violation of safety rules

The flagrant violation of safety rules and use of banned construction materials could be at the origin of a blaze that engulfed two towers under construction on the Doha Corniche on Saturday, a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior yesterday said. No casualties were reported as 400 workers at the site managed to quickly evacuate the buildings, it said.

It is the second time in six months the Al Nasr Twin Towers, one of the major construction projects in Doha's luxurious business district, suffered fire accidents due to negligence of the construction company and inexperience of workers, a top civil defence official said during a press conference with reporters at the site soon after the accident.

"The contractor ignored a warning against using highly inflammable construction material after the first blaze at the Al Nasr Tower-B on November 24 last year ... Carelessness in handling such material by unskilled workers contributed to the blaze," said Colonel Abdullah Al Suwaidi, director of Civil Defence Department.

The owner of the twin towers and the contractor were summoned to the Capital Security Department for questioning, he said.

Al Suwaidi told reporters that the efficiency of firefighters struggling against strong winds prevented the fire from spreading to three nearby buildings, also under construction. Units from the Qatar Armed Forces and the Internal Security Force also aided in the operations.

Qatar-based daily The Peninsula reported yesterday workers at the site as saying that the blaze started on the first floor of one of the towers, where inflammable materials such as foam sheets were stored.