lennart
15-09-03, 17:00
Saudi jail blaze kills inmates
A fire has swept through Saudi Arabia's biggest prison killing and injuring scores of inmates, prison officials say.
At least 67 prisoners have been killed and another 20 inmates and three guards injured, the director-general of the prison service has said.
The blaze at the Al-Hair prison, in the capital Riyadh broke out around midday (0900 GMT).
Firefighters and rescue workers are said to have "intervened immediately" nonetheless officials say the fire is still burning.
Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the blaze.
It is not known whether the prison housed any of the more than 200 Islamic militants rounded up in recent months as part of a crackdown on supporters of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3110656.stm
A fire has swept through Saudi Arabia's biggest prison killing and injuring scores of inmates, prison officials say.
At least 67 prisoners have been killed and another 20 inmates and three guards injured, the director-general of the prison service has said.
The blaze at the Al-Hair prison, in the capital Riyadh broke out around midday (0900 GMT).
Firefighters and rescue workers are said to have "intervened immediately" nonetheless officials say the fire is still burning.
Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the blaze.
It is not known whether the prison housed any of the more than 200 Islamic militants rounded up in recent months as part of a crackdown on supporters of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3110656.stm