Help needed for survivors of fire

Five men died last night and two remain hospitalised after a fire broke out in an apartment in the "National" area, near to Sofitel Hotel.

The fire was discovered at 11.30pm, when most of the 39 men who shared the apartment were already asleep - possibly caused by an electrical short cicuit. Men from a neighbouring flat in the same building managed to kick down the door and most of the occupants escaped. However, five had already died and another was seriously injured when he leapt from the first floor window. The seventh man is believed to be suffering from burns.

All but two of the men are Sri Lankan and work for various companies, sharing the rental for the property.

There are now 32 men in need of help for food and shelter, and of course money needs to be raised for shipping home the bodies of the deceased. Authorities from the Sri Lankan Embassy have visited the site and are making arrangements to repatriate the bodies.

These men spent the whole of last night and most of today sitting outside on the street - having lost everything and witnessed the deaths of their colleagues. They were supplied with a hot meal and a package each, containing clothes, blanket, water and toiletries in response to their immediate needs.

They will now be relying on the generosity and support of the community to help them set up home again. By late this afternoon they had already managed to locate an empty apartment which could accomodate them all and had begun negotiations, but they will have a problem with cash if the landlord requests a full months deposit. Thereafter, they will need to buy the basics - a/c, beds, bedding, cooking facilities, fridge, etc.

When the HBK fire happened, the whole of Doha dug deep and helped - only to find that HBK was willing and able to help its own employees. That will not happen with these men. They rent the flat independent of their companies, so are not expecting any official level of assistance.

Please reply to this thread with your email or phone number if you are able to offer help.

Below are a couple of photos of the men and their burned out room taken earlier today.