SIX SOMALI CHILDREN DIED IN JEDDAH HOUSE COLLAPSE

Building collapsed due to water hoarding, say police

Civil Defense personnel clear the debris of the collapsed building at downtown Jeddah on Saturday. (AN photo)

By SULTAN AL-TAMIMI | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: Responders to a downtown Jeddah building collapse believe the building caved in due to hoarding water on the rooftop. Six Somali children died in the incident.

"They are speculating that the weight from water barrels on top of the building might have caused the building to collapse," a police officer at the scene told Arab News on Saturday.

The debris from the roof included several large blue, plastic barrels — the kind often used by residents of water-starved districts as personal cisterns.

The building, located on Old Makkah Road in Al-Sahifah District near Bab Makkah, is home to many low-income foreign residents.

Hussam, a 55-year-old Saudi who lives near the collapsed building and who was outside watching the cleanup operation on Saturday, said the electricity to the area had been cut off as a precautionary measure. He said Civil Defense officials asked residents of neighboring buildings to vacate until the area was deemed safe.

"My family has left our building, but I will stay until the electricity comes back," said Hussam. "I fear that someone might take advantage of the situation and steal our things."

Hussam said the area suffers from a water shortage, meaning the municipal pipes are dry most of the time. Residents in such areas create their own storage and hoard water as soon as the building cisterns are filled by the occasional delivery of water.

"Rent is much cheaper here but we struggle with water most of the time," said Hussam.

The site of the collapse is located on one of downtown Jeddah's narrow streets. The location of the building, coupled with the dozens of gawking locals, made it difficult for Civil Defense trucks to arrive at the scene shortly after Maghreb prayers on Friday.

"We hardly get water in here, and when we do we save it inside barrels," said Abdullah, a 42-year-old Somali resident who lives near the site of the accident. "My family knows the old lady who owns this building. I don't think she lives in the neighborhood anymore. It is unfortunate and sad at the same time. No one expected something like this to happen." Jeddah Civil Defense Director Brig. Abdullah Al-Jeddawi said authorities would question the building's owner and conduct an investigation.

Meanwhile, municipality workers continued to clean up debris and search for casualties amid the rubble.

Small bulldozers were seen pushing rubble into trucks and the area was marked off with yellow safety tape to keep curious residents from entering zones deemed unstable.

In March, three buildings nearby in the historic center collapsed after a massive fire engulfed seven buildings in the area. No one died in the collapse but one man was injured.