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Two die in Saudi Arabia building collapse

April 28, 2015

At least two workers have been killed and several others injured after a convention center collapsed near Riyadh. A few laborers are still believed to be stuck under the debris.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FFt9

A university building under construction in Saudi Arabia's al-Qassim province collapsed on Monday, killing at least two workers and injuring several others, civil defense authorities said.

Initially, there were reports of about 50 workers being trapped under concrete after the cement and steel roof of a large conference hall under construction collapsed. But an official of the Saudi Red Crescent authority said his colleagues found "two persons dead" and took six others with injuries to the hospital.

Three to six other laborers were believed to be still stuck under the debris, the official told AFP news agency.

University spokesman Bandar al-Roshodi told news channel al- Ekhbariya that search teams hoped to find and rescue workers trapped under the construction site. "We have hope, God willing," he told AFP news agency.

The governor of al-Qassim province, Prince Faisal bin Meshaal, has meanwhile ordered the creation of a committee to investigate the incident.

The trapped workers were of "different nationalities," university spokesman al-Roshodi told journalists. Most of Saudi Arabia's laborers come from South Asian countries, including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

mg/gsw (AFP, AP)