13 children among 19 dead as Qatar mall goes up in flames Published on Tuesday 29 May 2012 01:29 A FIRE in a shopping mall in the Qatari capital, Doha, killed 19 people, 13 of whom were children, officials said last night. The young victims were said to be from France, Spain, Japan, the Philippines and Benin, among other countries. A set of triplets from New Zealand are understood to be among the children who died. A Spanish diplomatic source in Madrid said four of the dead children were from Spain. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, which media reports said broke out at a childcare area at the Villaggio Mall. Qatar's interior ministry would only confirmed that the fire had started somewhere between Gates 3 and 4 in the mall and that an investigation was under way. Witnesses reported thick black smoke pouring from the mall at about midday. Amateur photos and videos posted online showed firefighters rescuing victims by climbing on the roof. Hazel Amanda, a teacher from Edinburgh, described the scene inside the mall when the fire broke out. Speaking to the BBC, she said: "I was in Pizza Express in the mall with 17 children, aged three to four. We were making pizzas as part of a school trip. The first we knew of the fire was when we saw the smoke. There were fire alarms going off in the building, but they were barely audible. They were not sounding in the individual shops, they were so quiet. We were so lucky to be near the exit. Ms Amanda said that the emergency services did not turn up until after all of her group were safely out of the building and the building was well alight. At least some of the victims died as rescuers struggled to reach the child care centre, according to Qatar's interior affairs minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani. He said: "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. Four teachers and two civil defence officials were among the dead, the Qatari ministry later announced on its official Twitter page. Most of the injured were rescuers responding to the blaze, the ministry said. It added that the fire was extinguished hours later. Though Sheikh Abdullah said all buildings in the country abide by safety requirements and that a special committee would be set up to monitor building safety standards, the tragedy is expected to raise questions about building safety in the booming Gulf state. The Villaggio complex opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. Malls throughout the oil-rich Arab Gulf are popular with families looking for entertainment destinations that provide relief from soaring summer temperatures. The Villaggio features an ice-skating rink, a theme park, a cinema and indoor Venice-style gondola rides. New construction projects such as the Villaggio have transformed the face of Doha in recent years, as the country benefits from a hydrocarbon boom. Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup a year and a half ago.