Riyadh fire: Five Keralites among seven died

KOCHI: Five Keralites were among the seven killed in a fire mishap in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh in the early hours of Saturday.The deceased from the state are Abdul Rahim and Ajith from Thrissur, Sulaiman Karulayi and Ahmad Kabir from Malappuram, Thomas Mathew hailing from Alappuzha.The other two are Mohammad of Mangalore and Salahi Rajesh of Nepal.The fire broke out in the second floor of a Super Market at AlBatha, where a large number of Malayalis are either working or running their own business units.The Indian Embassy in Riyadh has been instructed to make arrangements for bringing home the bodies of the six Indians, Union Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed said."Our Embassy in Riyadh has been asked to make arrangements for flying home the bodies of the victims at the expense of the Indian Government," Ahmed said.The Saudi Government would be ordering a thorough inquiry to ascertain the cause of the fire, he added. (with PTI inputs)