This picture, sent by a reader, shows thick smoke billowing from burning shops in Souq Al Deera yesterday.

DOHA: A major fire broke out in the busy souq area yesterday morning, gutting a cluster of shops located between Souq Al Deera and Souq Al Aseeri.

Luckily though, since it was only an hour after the shops had opened, no casualties or even minor injuries were reported. People had enough time to be moved to safety, some even with heaps of goods salvaged from their shops.

The authorities blamed the souq and shop owners for overlooking safety requirements. “The place was old and very crowded with no safety measures at all,” said Major-General Saad bin Abdullah Al Khulaifi, Director of Capital Police.

Some of those affected told this newspaper that goods destroyed in the inferno could be worth millions of riyals.

Some expatriate workers staying nearby lost their passports and personal belongings in the fire as they could not return to their accommodation after leaving for safety. Many were seen hanging around the devastated area not knowing where they would be staying now.

Abdul Ghafoor, an Indian cafeteria worker staying in Al Deera, said he had lost his identity card and personal belongings. “We were 30 people staying in one accommodation. Some of them have lost their passports as well,” he said.

The blaze began at 9am in a small way in a sports goods shop (Century) in Souq Al Deera that had piled up large stocks of goods within its premises.

But the fire soon spread, with its magnitude getting dangerously alarming. So powerful was the blaze that thick clouds of smoke were billowing from the site hours after it had broken out.

Firefighting teams from the Civil Defence department rushed to the spot and prevented the fire from spreading further despite the morning wind.

They were aided in their firefighting and rescue efforts by personnel from Internal Security Force Lekhwiya and Al Fazaa patrol teams.

Al Khulaifi said the shopkeepers were careless and they dumped goods here and there with no concern for safety. “The souq owners must review the situation,” he said.

Other buildings in the vicinity that had enough safety measures did not catch fire. “This proves how important the safety aspect is,” said Al Khulaifi.

The director of Civil Defence, Brigadier Abdullah Mohamed Al Suwaidi, said in a statement to Qatar News Agency the fire had been controlled and praised the shopkeepers for their active cooperation. “We evacuated them immediately,” he said.

Warning issued to rumour mongers

DOHA: The Civil Defence chief, Brigadier Abdullah Mohamed Al Suwaidi, yesterday issued a warning to rumour mongers. He said some people had sent text messages to their friends and relatives saying there had been casualties in yesterday’s fire. “I warn such people against spreading rumours. There have been no casualties. People sending such SMS messages will be taken to task. We will initiate legal action against them,” he was quoted as saying by QNA.

THE PENINSULA