Doha: At least 19 people including 13 children were killed when fire erupted at an upscale mall in the Qatari capital, eyewitnesses and local media reported on Monday.
According to reports the blaze broke out at the Villagio Mall in Doha’s west end. Smoke was billowing from the mall, which was evacuated. Ambulances and police vehicles blocked entry to the complex.
A two-year-old boy died in the blaze, according to a relative. “There don’t seem to have been any fire alarms or sprinklers at the mall,” the man told Reuters, speaking from Qatar’s Hamad hospital.
The Gulf Arab state’s ministry of interior was planning to hold a news conference about the fire on Monday evening.
“The concerned authorities are taking a toll of human casualties and material losses at Villaggio fire. All the details will be updated,” the ministry said on its Twitter account.
The Villagio Mall, which opened in 2006, is an Italianate-themed shopping complex with a hotel, theme park and canal plied by gondolas.
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