At a public vigil held on Tuesday, the Culture Minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwairi said that his daughter “is the saddest person on earth,” according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, distraught parents of the triplets have called the incident a tragedy and an accident, but have expressed that they do not want to place blame.

The mall’s chief manager and head of security are also being held following witness accounts that mall officials were negligent in their emergency response duties. Qatar’s Attorney General issued called for the arrests yesterday, though it isn’t certain what charges have been made.

According to Reuters, the nursery at the end of a hallway was only accessible by a small passage. Since there was no fire escape, the room became a “death trap” filled with dense smoke and intense heat after the staircase collapsed. Rescue workers were forced to smash through the mall’s roof in an effort to reach the children.

Moroccan firefighter died holding two children in his arms

Arab Times Online reports that “Abdel Khaleq al-Huwari, one of dozens of firemen who responded to the blaze, told AFP that the rescue teams were not informed about the existence of a nursery in the mall until half an hour after they arrived on the scene.”

By the time he reached the nursery, al-Huwari found Moroccan firefighter Husam Shahboun lying dead on the floor “holding two children in his arms. The other (Iranian) firefighter was barely alive when we found him,” Huwari told the paper. “We tried to save him but he died.”

We will continue to follow the developments, and sincerely hope that this devastating event will spur sweeping changes in planning and safety law – not only in the Gulf, but throughought the Middle East, where even more tragedies are inevitable given the shoddy state of construction affairs.

:: Reuters

image via Doha News, Tumblr

More on the Fire in Doha, Qatar:

Qatar Fire: Expatriates Furious Over Officials’ Lackadaisacal Attitude

Qatar Mall Owner Faces Arrest for Deadly Fire

The post Culture Minister’s Daughter Arrested in Connection with Qatar’s Fire appeared first on Green Prophet.

Murder in Doha?

Attorney General Ali bin Feitais al-Marri issued the arrest orders amid public outcries and murder accusations after Monday’s tragedy. The Villaggio’s sprinkler system failed and emergency responders were unable to navigate the building as no floorplans or blueprints were available. Rescue crews eventually broke through the roof of the mall in order to reach the daycare facility that was situated at the end of long, twisted hallways, according to local papers.

The fire’s cause has not been identified, but the state has ordered an investigation and the results are expected to be released within a week.

“What happened is similar to murder because of the lack of safety measures in such complexes,” wrote Saleh al-Kuwari, editor of the Al Raya newspaper in Doha. Other Arab writers have issued similar vitriols, demanding more accountability, better safety regulations and more systematic reviews of buildings constructed with such enormous haste.

Condolences for fire deaths not enough

Qatar Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani offered public condolences to “all the parents and relatives of those killed in this horrible fire,” while Arab leaders across the region have commisserated with Qatar’s emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. But these gestures will do little to stay the public’s growing anger as many argue that safety takes a back seat to profit where the region’s explosive construction boom is concerned.

Similar tragedies have occured in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, where authorities are considering a plan to ban flammable panels in skyscraper construction projects – a case of too little too late.

This unfathomable tragedy is bound to lead to a belated sweep of safety measures and emergency response throughout the region, which will do little to assuage the parents who have lost their children, or the families of the two firemen and caretakers who also perished in the fire.

But Qatar is bound to feel the heat during the lead-up to the 2022 soccer World Cup when thousands of fans will expect to feel safe in newly-constructed solar-powered stadiums and other facilities.

image via CC Qatar, Flickr

More News from Qatar:

Qatar Fire: Expatriates Furious over Official’s Lackadaisacal Attitude

Local Architect Questions the Logic of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Groundwork

The Showcase is a Mini Prototype Stadium for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup

The post Qatar Mall Owner Faces Arrest for Deadly Fire appeared first on Green Prophet.