http://www.smh.com.au/world/wedding-shots-spark-fire-in-saudi-arabia-and-kills-25-people-20121101-28lav.html
Wedding shots spark fire in Saudi Arabia and kills 25 people Date November 2, 2012 - 12:07AM A fire sparked by celebratory gunfire has killed at least 25 women and children at a wedding in Saudi Arabia, local reports say. The bullets struck electric decorations that triggered a short-circuit, igniting a women-only marquee at the wedding on Tuesday night in Eastern Province, said Al-Youm newspaper, citing civil defence chief General Abdullah Khsheiman. Al-Youm, which is based in the province, said at least 28 people died in the fire, although various other reports put the death toll at 25, all of them women and children. Reuters also quoted Khsheiman as saying the cable had fallen onto a metal door and those who died were all electrocuted. Only women and small children were in the tent in line with strict rules of segregation in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. A photograph of the aftermath of the accident, published on local newspaper websites, showed a large courtyard strewn with fallen chairs and a pole in the middle supporting cables carrying lightbulbs. Last month Saudi Arabia banned the shooting of firearms at weddings, a popular tradition in tribal areas of the conservative Islamic kingdom. In July 1999, 76 people died in a similar incident in Eastern Province. The governor of the oil-rich region, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, ordered a prompt investigation into the incident, the Okaz daily newspaper reported. Agencies Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/wedding-shots-spark-fire-in-saudi-arabia-and-kills-25-people-20121101-28lav.html#ixzz2B0Eh9mB5 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
