Doha Mall fire kills 13 children, 6 others

A fire that erupted on Monday at a nursery in a main shopping centre in the Qatari capital killed 19 people including 13 children, the interior ministry said. The blaze left “19 dead, including 13 children, among them seven girls and six boys, in addition to four female teachers,” the ministry said on its Twitter page, citing the country’s health minister. President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of condolences to Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar. Expressing his sincerest condolences, Sheikh Khalifa asked Allah that the fire victims rest in peace and that the bereaved families are granted patience. Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent similar cables to Sheikh Hamad. Foreigners In Madrid, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said: “Four of the dead children are Spanish,” and added that Spanish embassy officials were trying to get more details. Two members of the civil defence also died in the fire at the capital’s main Villagio mall, it said. The fire started at a nursery, State Minister for the Interior Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani told reporters, adding that firefighters had to break through the roof to get to trapped children after a staircase to the first-floor nursery collapsed. The fire at the Villagio broke out at 11:30 am (local time), the ministry said, quoting the minister as telling reporters that the “public prosecution has taken charge of the investigation.” Footage posted earlier online showed black smoke billowing from the shopping centre as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.