PPIH Assures No Victims of the Al Hidayah Tower Makkah Fire

Head of the Makkah Working Area, Saudi Arabia Hajj Organizing Task Force (PPIH) Ihsan Faisal, confirmed that no Indonesian pilgrims were victims of life or injuries in the fire incident that occurred at the Al Hidayah Tower complex, Aziziah, Mecca.

"What we need to ensure is that none of our pilgrims are injured or anything else. So, God willing, all our pilgrims in Sector 10 are safe and sound," said Ihsan in Mecca, Saturday, June 6, as reported by ANTARA.

The fire incident occurred on Friday (6/6) at around 18.00 Saudi Arabian Time (WAS), or one hour before entering Maghrib time.

At that time, a number of Indonesian Hajj members reported a cloud of smoke in front of Tower 7.

Ihsan explained, based on the investigation of Sector 10 officers in the field, the fire point came from a room that functioned as a hotel employee room.

"The hotel employee was charging the battery of the scooter. It is suspected that due to overheating, the battery exploded, causing a fire and burning the items in the room," said Ihsan.

Following up on the incident, hotel management immediately contacted the fire department. A total of three Makkah fire brigade units were immediately deployed to the location.

In accordance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) of emergency, the Hajj officers of Sector 10 together with the hotel management immediately evacuated the pilgrims in Towers 6, 7, and 8 through emergency stairs.

The evacuation was carried out because the smoke began to spread and the hotel lift facility was turned off for safety.

Around 20.00 WAS, firefighters stated that the fire point had completely extinguished and the situation was under control again.

The pilgrims who were previously evacuated were then allowed to return to their rooms safely.

At the time of the incident, the Al Hidayah Tower complex which is in Sector 10 was not fully inhabited by pilgrims from the Embarkation of Banten, Padang, and Banjarmasin, because several groups of flights (clusters) had returned to their homelands.

As a precautionary measure, Ihsan appealed to all pilgrims to be more vigilant in using electrical and electronic devices in the room.

"If it is not used, it is better to be revoked, such as water heaters, rice heaters, or HP chargers. The potential for fire in Mecca is getting bigger because of the weather factor outside which is also very hot," said Ihsan.