KUWAIT: At least 54 firefighters were injured while tackling a blaze that broke out in a car parking building under construction at Sabah health zone, which started Friday afternoon and was still raging at press time yesterday, a Kuwait Fire Service Directorate official confirmed.

Seven fire teams consisting of 220 commissioned and noncommissioned officers were battling the blaze as off yesterday, KFSD social media official Captain Redha Al-Salman told Al-Rai, noting that some the injured firefighters needed to be taken to hospital while suffering from various injuries and heat exhaustion.

The reason behind the large fire is the fact that construction material and paints were stored in the multistory parking lot building, which consists of three floors and two basements, the official explained. "The material kept burning for 24 hours and expected to go out by midnight," Salman said.

He appreciated firemen's role containing the fire and keeping flames from spreading further in an area that contains sensitive buildings such as hospitals and health centers.