Seven foreign workers were killed when the roof of a building they were working on at a Saudi Arabian university campus caved in Monday, civil defense workers and a diplomat told the Associated Press.
The news agency said a civil defense official confirmed the death toll of the collapse had risen from an initial four to the current seven casuaties, including an Egyptian engineer, according to Egyptian embassy consul Ashraf Shiha. The official also said six other workers were injured, while authorities were still searching for two more under the rubble.
Civil defense authorities said the collapse occured on the campus of al-Qassim University in the Saudi city of Buraydah, some 360 km northwest of the capital Riyadh. The civil defense's official statement reported 50 workers were present at the time of the incident, but did not elaborate about their conditions. It also did not name the nationalities of the workers involved, though all the victims are believed to be foreigners. Typically, laborers come from South Asian countries such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to find work in the Kingdom.
Among the agencies assisting the rescue operation is the Saudi Red Cresent Authority, civil defense officers and local security teams. The site was also reportedly visited by provincial governor, Prince Faisal bin Meshaal, who ordered an investigation into the incident by a committee made up of government, university and civil defense representatives. With a roof made of tons of steel and cement, the construction site was beginning of a large conference hall at the university.
