Updated
A massive fire in Saudi Arabia at a worker's residential complex housing hundreds of expatriates working for State oil giant - Saudi Aramco - killed 11 and left over 200 people injured on Sunday. The condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical.
A Reuters report initially citing the Saudi Civil Defence said has said that two were killed and 105 people of various nationalities were injured. However, the number of causalities may rise later in the day.
Later in the day AFP reported that the death toll had increased. The civil defence officials informed media that at least eleven people have died and 219 were injured. The fire reportedly destroyed the residential building.
The company has more than 55,000 employees. In the Radium residential complex, nine buildings were rented to the State oil giant - Saudi Aramco, to house its employees.
The residents of the complex were mainly expatriates from United States, India, Pakistan, China and Philippines among others. Local residents claim that there were no Arabs or Saudi citizens living in the complex.
The fire reportedly broke out in the basement of the sprawling residential complex located in Khobar. Saudi Aramco said that it has launched an investigation into the early morning inferno.
"At 05:45 today, a fire was reported in the basement of the Radium residential compound in Al Khobar, which is leased by Saudi Aramco for its employees," Aramco said in a statement. "Cars and furniture caught fire in the basement of one of the towers, heavy smoke bellowed, obstructing rescue and firefighting operations."
The fire reportedly was brought under control only by 11 am, local time. The Radium Residential Complex has 486 housing units.
Mohammed Elsadek, a marketing strategist, who lives in an apartment parallel to the Radium residential told IBTimes India that "the fire was huge." The Egyptian national added that civil defence forces and Aramco team now believe that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the building.
Elsadek added that the rescued people have been transferred to Park Inn hotel and Carlton Al Moebed hotel.
Saudi Arabia is yet to release the details of the victims.
