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The scene of the Doha mall fire - Source: Reuters -
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The parents of triplets who died in a fire at a Doha shopping mall say they are angry the complex is re-opening.
Two-year-old New Zealand triplets Lillie, Willsher and Jackson
Weekes were among 19 foreigners killed when the fire broke out in
the Villagio mall in Doha on May 28.
The triplets were among 13 children, four teachers and two
firefighters who died in the fire in the Gympanzee nursery within
the mall building.
The mall is now open for business, but the triplets' father, Martin Weekes, says it could be another tragedy waiting to happen.
"We don't know that the mall is yet safe. If we don't know what
happened, whether it was the building, whether it was the
evacuation, things went wrong. How do we know it's been rectified,"
he says.
Weekes has called for a boycott of the mall until the safety
concerns are dealt with.
An official investigation found that the fire began in a sporting goods store.
The statement said the childcare centre was not licensed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and did not meet the necessary safety conditions.
There was also a "lack of response" among the mall's security staff as well as the staff in the store where the fire started.
Qatar's attorney-general ordered the arrest of five people in connection with the fire soon after the incident.
The criminal prosecution over responsibility for the fire was postponed earlier this month because two key players failed to show up.