Sixteen people killed in Bahrain building fire

MANAMA, July 30 (Reuters) Sixteen people were killed by a blaze in a three-storey building in Bahrain's capital Manama today, the official BNA news agency reported.

The agency, quoting an Interior Ministry statement, said the 16 all died from smoke inhalation.

The statement said another seven people were injured in the fire that broke out at dawn in a three-storey building which housed employees of a nearby hotel.

BNA said all the casualties were Asian. The tiny kingdom of Bahrain, like many Gulf Arab states, relies on a large number of foreign workers -- mostly from Asian countries.

REUTERS BDP KN1144