டொஹா கட்டாரில் தங்கும் இடம் ஒன்றில் இடம்பெற்ற தீ விபத்தில் இலங்கையர் ஐவர் பலியாகியுள்ளனர்.

இத் தீ விபத்தில் இருவர் தீ காயங்களுக்குட்பட்ட நிலையில் ஹமாட் வைத்தியசாலையில் Hamad Hospital அனுதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர். இத்தீ விபத்துக்கு

electrical short தான் காரணம் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது.

Fire kills five Sri Lankans in Qatar

Five Sri Lankans have died in a fire that accidently triggered in the house they were living in Doha, Qatar.

Chrishantha Herath, the Labour Officer of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Qatar confirmed the deaths.

Those who were killed in the incident, which the Labour officer believes to be an accident, are Thushitha Ananada Abeywickrema of Embilipitiya, Roshan Thushitha Kumara of Akuressa, Nimal of Chilaw, Amila Madhusanka of Bulathsinhala and Nalinda Kumara of Thambuththegama.

Two hospitalised

Another two Sri Lankans; Dulan Shalika Ratnasiri of Hatton and Vijitha Aluthgedera of Ginigathhena who were badly injured have been admitted to Hamad Hospital, Herath said.

He said another two Sri Lankans who were with them have escaped unhurt.

Herath said that no damage has been done to the adjoining three rooms of the same house where about twenty five Sri Lankans are living.

He said according to the information he got the cause of the fire which happened in the midnight on Tuesday was an electrical short circuit.

Accepting the fact that there are shortcomings in the provision of accommodations for the immigrant workers, Labour Officer Hearath said that these Sri Lankans were living in rented accommodation.

He said the companies they work are not responsible for what has happened as the employees had themselves hired the accommodation.

Skilled workers

"The companies provide accommodation allowance for them. These are skilled workers not labourers", he said.

Arrangements are being made to send the bodies to Sri Lanka by the Sri Lanka Embassy with the assistance of the Co-ordinating Committee of the Sri Lankan Community in Qatar but there is a delay because the Embassy is waiting for the Forensic report, analysts report and the police report, Herath added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/20...619_qatar.shtml

Blaze survivor tells of ‘human torch’ horror

Published: Sunday, 22 June, 2008, 01:13 AM Doha Time

By Arvind Nair

“HE CAME out of the door like a blazing human torch and collapsed onto the terrace,” said a survivor of Wednesday night’s fire in a Doha apartment, describing the horror of seeing a roommate in flames.

Dulan Salika Ratnasiri, who suffered 79% burns, is in critical condition at the Trauma Intensive Care Unit of Hamad Hospital.

Five sleeping Sri Lankans died in the fire that swept througth their room in a building on Al Maymoon Street in Al Asmakh area.

Nishantha Mangalajeewa, who jumped to safety through a window, said he saw Dulan, engulfed in flames, take a few steps before collapsing.

According to Sri Lankan Co-ordinating Committee (SLCC) officials who visited the hospital, doctors could not give a time frame for Dulan’s recovery.

The condition of his colleague Vijitha Aluthgedera remains stable and he has been transferred to the burns unit at Rumaillah Hospital.

The SLCC team included its president Lenny Cramer, general secretary Ruwan Lankeshwara, chief co-ordinator Nimal Tudewatte and Sri Lanka Community Benevolent Fund (SLCBF) vice president Tennison Silva.

Recalling the nightmare was all the more harrowing for Nishantha because his brother, Roshan Thushitha Kumara, was among the dead.

“When I saw the fire on waking up, I tried to douse the blaze by covering my brother and the others with bedsheets. But the sheets also caught fire immediately,” he said, trying to hold back tears.

The second-storey room housed nine Sri Lankan labourers.

Police have identified the dead as Thushitha Ananda Abeywickrama (from Ambilipitiya), Roshan Thushitha Kumara (Akurassa), Nimal (Chilaw), Amila Madusanka (Bulathsinhala) and Nalinda Kumara (Thambuthegama). They were 25 to 35 years old.

Only Nishantha and Salitha Prasad Warnasoorya managed to jump to safety.

They are currently put up in a villa at Abu Hamour, along with those who lived in the other rooms of the burnt-down apartment. Their rehabilitation is being supervised by the SLCC.

All 30 of them now sleep in two rooms and share just two toilets. Mattresses and food have been donated by the community.

The SLCC is desperately looking for another “affordable” accommodation since the villa was supposed to have been vacated last night. The committee has managed to get two days’ extension.

“We appeal to people, whatever their nationality, to please find accommodation for these hapless people urgently,” it said.

The men have lost everything, including their clothing, passports, ID cards and gate passes. Hence they cannot go to work immediately. Transport to the workplace is another problem, one of them said.

The SLCC officials said the community had helped out generously. The families of the dead and injured also needed help, and the committee could put prospective donors in touch with them, they added.

Reports in Gulf Times had generated an overwhelming response. “We received more than 100 calls only yesterday. Many of them were non-Sri Lankans,” one of the officials said.

Any offer of help may be conveyed to Lenny Cramer (5608780), Ruwan Lankeshwara (5297126) or Nimal Tudewatte (5830794).

Meanwhile, embassy sources said the bodies of the dead would be flown to Sri Lanka as soon as legal procedures were completed, possibly this week.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/arti...mp;parent_id=16