Qatar’s Villaggio Mall, which last year suffered a deadly blaze that killed 19, was reportedly the scene of another fire on Wednesday afternoon.
In May 2012, 13 children died in the retail complex after an electrical fault caused a fire to break out at a children’s nursery. Among the dead were two-year old triplets.
A shopper evacuated from Villlaggio on Wednesday told Arabian Business that the fire had originated near Entrance 2 of the mall in a clothing store. Qatar’s Ministry of Interior’s Arabic Twitter feed confirmed that a malfunctioning AC unit had caused the centre to be evacuated, with no injuries reported.
Earlier this week, Civil Defence conducted a fire drill at Villaggio to test its fire alarm systems.
The incident again raises questions over fire safety standards in the wealthy Gulf state, which will in 2022 host the FIFA World Cup.
Also on Wednesday, a fire broke out at Sidra Medical and Research Centre, the Ministry of Interior confirmed, with local media reports claiming that Civil Defence were still attempting to contain the blaze more than two hours after it started.
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