Middle East

Dec. 25, 2015 | 11:54 AM

Accusations fly over Saudi hospital fire that killed 24

Saudi officials inspect the damage inside the Jazan General Hospital after a blaze broke out in the intensive care unit and the maternity department on December 24, 2015 in Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province. AFP PHOTO / STR

Reuters

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Summary

Accusations flew over who was to blame for the deaths of at least 24 people in a Saudi hospital fire, with one official saying a crowd that gathered there had obstructed rescue workers and some Twitter users blaming lax safety standards.

The country's deputy health minister was quoted by the Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper Friday as saying 141 people had been injured in the fire -- the latest in a series of accidents that have killed hundreds of people at Saudi public facilities.

Some Twitter users accused the hospital of having lax safety standards, after a reporter for al-Arabiya television said he had seen several emergency doors locked with chains when he visited the hospital after the disaster.