Ali bin Saad al-Qahtani

Canadians, Pakistani, Nigerian among dead in Saudi fire

The blaze began early Sunday in a sprawling, multistory housing complex in the city of Khobar that accommodates workers for state oil giant Saudi Aramco.

Col. Ali bin Saad al-Qahtani, a civil defense spokesman for the kingdom's Eastern Province, provided the update in comments carried by the official Saudi Press Agency early Monday.