Fuel Truck Explodes in Riyadh
/AP:
A fuel truck exploded in an apparent roadway accident on Thursday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, engulfing buildings and cars in flames and killing at least two people, witnesses and officials said.
At least 22 people were killed and 125 people injured at the explosion, according to Saudi state television.
A spokesman for the Civil Defense in Riyadh told the state news agency that the explosion happened when the fuel truck hit an overpass on Khurais road as the driver attempted to avoid a car accident on his way.
“The gas leak caused great damages due to the blaze and explosion which took place at the time of accident because the air was saturated with gas, which also caused many car accidents at the location and a number of fatalities,” said spokesman Captain Mohammed al-Hobail al-Hammadi.
“I was inside the building when the blast came. Then boom, the building collapsed. Furniture, chairs and cabinets blasted into the room I was in,” survivor Kushnoo Akhtara told Reuters, bleeding and covered in dirt.
“My brother is still inside under the rubble. There are lots of people in there,” the 55-year-old Pakistani worker said.
Pictures and video posted on Twitter showed severe damages to an industrial building that reportedly belongs to Zahid Tractors, the distributor for Caterpillar Equipment in Saudi Arabia.
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