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Triplets perish in Doha mall blaze: New Zealand youngsters aged three among the 13 children and six adults killed 'after sprinkler systems malfunction'

Horror as toddlers are left trapped in first floor nursery after staircase collapses
Firefighters forced to break through roof to evacuate victims
Qatari ministry of the interior says four teachers and two civil defense officials are among the dead
Relative of one two-year-old victim said building did not appear to have fire alarms or sprinklers
According to a diplomatic source in Madrid four of the dead children were Spanish

Three two-year-old triplets from New Zealand were among the victims who perished after a fire broke out in an upmarket shopping mall in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday.

Lillie, Jackson and Willsher Weekes died after they became trapped when a staircase leading up to the Villaggio mall's first floor nursery collapsed.

Firefighters smashed their way through the roof of the building to try to rescue those inside, but they were too late to save the trio. A further ten children and six adults also died.

Panic: A firemen carries an injured girl from the roof of the mall. At least 13 children and six adults have been killed after a fire broke out in an upmarket shopping mall in the Qatari capital Doha

Four of the children killed were Spanish citizens living in the small Arab emirate, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said. It did not identify the children, citing Spanish privacy regulations.

Also, a 3-year-old French child was among the victims, the deputy minister for overseas French citizens, Yamina Benguigui, said in a statement.

The triplets' father, Martin Weekes, is listed on his LinkedIn networking site as a senior adviser at Qatar Media Services and a former chief executive of Auckland's Eden Park sports stadium.

The children's grandmother, Jo Turner, told Fairfax Media: 'Our daughter rang. What can you say? It's absolutely devastating.

'They were everything to her. She was a great mum. She was a hands-on mum.' Mrs Turner said her daughter, Jane Weekes, had lived in Qatar for about five years, although she had returned to New Zealand to give birth to the triplets.

Tragedy: Paramedics tend to an injured man on the roof of the Doha shopping mall. A Qatari government spokesman has confirmed that 13 children were among the dead

Evacuation: A man carries an injured boy on the roof of the Mall. A relative of a two-year-old boy who died in the blaze said there did not seem to have been any fire alarms or sprinklers inside the building

Injured: A policeman involved in the rescue efforts receives treatment at the scene as other emergency workers climb down from the roof of the building

Four teachers and two civil defense officials were among the dead, the Qatari ministry said on its official Twitter page.

At least three of the nursery teachers were from the Philippines and died of smoke inhalation, Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in Manila.

Another 17 people were injured, including four children, according to authorities.

Most of those hurt were rescuers responding to the blaze. A brother of one of the dead Filipino teachers was among the injured but had recovered, Mr Hernandez said.

The fire broke out at the Villagio Mall in Doha's west end a short time before midday. Smoke was seen billowing from the building as ambulances and police vehicles blocked entry to the complex. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze.

At least some of the victims died as rescuers struggled to reach the child care centre, according to Qatar's Minister of State for Interior Affairs, Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.

'We tried our best, but when we got there, the children were trapped inside. We are very sorry for what happened. We tried as much as we could to save these people,' Sheik Abdullah told reporters in Doha.

Rescue: State minister for the interior Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani told reporters firefighters had to break through the roof to get to trapped children after a staircase to the first-floor nursery collapsed

Shopping: Retailers based in the mall include many well-known Western brands, such as Foot Locker, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Marks & Spencer

Smoke: Witnesses say thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the mall around midday

Fire fighters use a cherry-picker crane to reach the roof of the building where they smashed a hole in the roof to reach people trapped inside

The Gulf Arab state's ministry of interior confirmed four teachers and two civil defense officials are among the dead

Haze: A ministry official said that all buildings in Qatar abide by safety regulations 'with no exceptions' and that an investigative committee would be formed to look into safety requirements issues

Air ambulance: Paramedics and emergency personnel prepare to evacuate one of the victims via helicopter

Witnesses say thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the ritzy Villaggio mall at around midday. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze

Family members of victims console each other following the fire in the Villagio shopping mall in the Qatari capital Doha

Grief: Family members of some of the victims console each other outside the building after learning the terrible news

Anguish: The father of one of the young victims breaks down in tears following the loss of his son

Disbelief: Victims' relatives struggle to comprehend the news. A diplomatic source in Madrid said four of the dead children were Spanish. A three-year-old French child was also among the victims. Others are believed to be from Japan, the Philippines and Benin

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the scene, said: 'The Gympanzee nursery, where most of the children were, is on the first floor with difficult access.'

Speaking from Qatar's Hamad hospital, the relative of a two-year-old boy who died in the blaze said: 'There don't seem to have been any fire alarms or sprinklers at the mall.'

Thick smoke and heat hindered rescue efforts, as did a lack of floor plans and malfunctioning sprinkler systems, the Qatar's Interior Ministry admitted on Twitter.

Sheik Abdullah said all buildings in the country abide by safety requirements, but a special committee will nonetheless be set up to monitor building safety standards.

'We tried to get to the children area but the extremely high heat stood in our way,' Brigadier Hamad al-Duhaimi of the Qatari civil defence told reporters.

Witnesses say thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the ritzy Villaggio mall around midday. The Interior Ministry later said the fire was extinguished.

Interior: A man races through smoke inside the mall building. A news conference is planned for later this evening

Casualty: An injured person is wheeled away on a stretcher

Fight: Firemen extend water hoses into the mall to as colleagues wearing breathing apparatus enter the building

Survivor: A man is given oxygen treatment as he is carried into an ambulance. The young victims included six boys and seven girls. Three were from the same family

Interior: The upmarket mall has an Italian theme complete with canals and gondolas. It opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations

The complex has an Italianate-theme complete with a canal and Venice-style gondolas as well as a hotel and an ice skating rink

The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. It has an Italianate-theme complete with a canal and Venice-style gondolas as well as a hotel and an ice skating rink.

'The concerned authorities are taking a toll of human casualties and material losses at Villaggio fire. All the details will be updated,' the ministry said on its Twitter account.

Retailers include many well-known Western brands, such as Foot Locker, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and British department store Marks & Spencer, according to the mall's website.

Malls throughout the oil-rich Arab Gulf are popular with families looking for entertainment destinations that provide relief from soaring summer temperatures.

New construction projects such as the Villaggio have transformed the face of once-sleepy Doha in recent years, as the country benefits from a hydrocarbon boom. The OPEC member state is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

Imthath

Breaking News: Fire in Villaggio Mall in Doha

Smoke rises above the Villaggio Mall, in Doha's west end, as a fire took hold of the upscale mall in the Qatari capital of Doha
Our hearts and minds are with the families of the victims and those who survived thanks to the effort and sacrifice of the men of the civil defense, police and security.

watch the scene of fire