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Eleven dead in Saudi as fire sweeps through compound

Eleven people are dead and over 200 are injured after a fire swept through an oil workers residential compound in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi national oil company Saudi Aramco said the cause of the fire which broke out in a basement of the Radium residential compound in Khobar was not known.

The Saudi Civil Defense Department tweeted that 11 were dead and 219 people have been injured. Credit: Saudi Civil Defense Department/Twitter
According to Aramco's website, the Radium Residential Complex consists of eight six-storey buildings and comprises 486 units. Credit: Twitter/Saudi Civil Defense Department

Cars and furniture caught fire in the basement of one of the towers, heavy smoke bellowed, obstructing rescue and firefighting operations," the Civil Defense said in a statement. The fire is now under control, it said.

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter with its entire output pumped by Aramco.