Fire strikes Saudi's Haramain train station, no injuries reported

A fire broke out in the Haramain high-speed rail station in Saudi Arabia’s coastal city of Jeddah, the country’s civil defence service said on Sunday, according to a report by Reuters.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, the civil defence said in a tweet, adding that they were still fighting the fire.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV and the Makkah region twitter feed displayed videos showing plumes of thick black smoke emanating from the roof of the station with helicopters flying nearby.

Al Arabiya said the fire broke out at 12:35 local time (0935 GMT).

The 6.7 billion euro ($7.3 billion), 450 km (280 mile) Haramain Railway linking the two holiest cities in Islam, Makkah and Medina, with the Red Sea city of Jeddah, was opened in September last year.

The station is part of efforts to boost tourism revenue as the country seeks to shed its dependence on oil exports.