Saudi fire burned 17,000 expat passports

JEDDAH: The fire that ripped through the six-story Alesayi Plaza on Madinah Road last week has shattered the travel plans of many of its employees after the disaster destroyed about 17,000 passports of expatriates working for the company and its branches across the country.

The fire on July 9 also destroyed more than 12,000 land deeds worth more than SR5 billion, Al-Bilad newspaper reported Sunday. The paper cited informed sources close to the ongoing investigation for its report.

The sources said it would take the authorities concerned at least 75 days to verify all the deeds, which involved thousands of buildings and lands in various parts of the Kingdom. They added that a team from notaries public in Jeddah would help in the process.

A Jeddah-based Alesayi employee who wanted to remain anonymous said the company was making every possible effort to help its employees after the tragedy.

He said the company had already started collecting passport and iqama copies from affected employees. The passports of all Alesayi employees across the Kingdom were in the building as the HR department was based there.

The company is trying to obtain the final report of the fire as early as possible to complete other formalities.

The company had asked employees to approach their respective countries' embassies and consulates to get new passports and had estimated the cost to be over SR20 million.

“Luckily my holiday plans are not disturbed due to this unexpected fire because I am planning to go on vacation during the Eid Al-Adha holiday,” the employee said.

As it is the summer and holiday period, some employees were planning their holidays this month. He said there were some employees whose passports were ready with exit/re-entry visas.

Alesayi employees meet everyday in Jeddah at a nearby hotel with company officials, he added. The company has assured its employees that it is working on a makeshift arrangement to relocate its staff in different places .

In addition to the deeds and passports, the sources said the fire had also destroyed building models and drawings for a number of land plots.

The newspaper quoted Director of Civil Defense in Jeddah Maj. Abdullah Al-Amri as saying that investigations into the fire were still continuing. He said a high-level team was heading the investigation.

Al-Amri declined to reveal further details but said the press would be informed of the results once they were completed.

He also refused to disclose details of any evidence collected, but said some had been recovered.

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