Wedding turns into disaster as electric shock kills 24 east of Saudi Arabia
Wednesday, 31 October 2012










http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/31/246776.html







By Al Arabiya









An electric shock killed 24 people, and wounded 30 others, mostly
women, celebrating a wedding in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia
early on Wednesday, Al Arabiya correspondent reported.



The wedding was held in "Ain Badr" village, in Abqaiq, 60 kilometeres southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area.



The disaster occurred when a high voltage power line fell down and
touched the metal door of the house where the wedding was being held,
according to sources from the Saudi Civil Defense.



In line with traditions in the Gulf, wedding celebrations in Saudi Arabia are segregated.



Most of the casualties were women, and they died as they attempted to
escape through the electrified metal door, the Civil Defense sources
told Al Arabiya.



Many of the victims were electrocuted as they attempted to leave the building, the Saudi-based news website Sabq reported.



A photograph of the aftermath of the accident, published on local
newspapers' websites showed a large courtyard strewn with fallen chairs
and a pole in the middle supporting cables carrying lightbulbs.



Eastern Province governor Prince Mohammed bin Fahd ordered an
investigation into the incident, the official Saudi Press Agency
reported.



In July 1999, 76 people died in a similar incident in Eastern Province.



In 2009, a wedding tent fire caused the death 57 women and children in
Kuwait. The fire was started allegedly by a 23-year-old woman who wanted
to ruin the marriage of her husband with a second wife.