1,300 Pakistanis rescued from Madinah hotel fire

The pilgrims had not endured any injuries.

Officials from the Saudi Civil Defense have rescued 1,300 Pakistani pilgrims after a fire broke out in a hotel in the Holy City of Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
According to Al Bayan Newspaper, the Saudi Civil Defense said in a statement on Saturday that it had managed to evacuate 1,300 Pakistani pilgrims from the hotel. The pilgrims had not endured any injuries and that the evacuation was a precautionary act as the fire had broken out in a restaurant and the smoke from it had been rising to the upper floors of the hotel.
The rescue operation is part of Saudi Arabia's attempts at raising the levels of security in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah to ensure the safety of pilgrims visiting the cities during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

• Saudi Arabia