According to local media, a fire at a residential building in Dubai killed sixteen people and injured nine others.
The fire broke out in Al-Ras, one of Dubai’s oldest neighborhoods. It is home to a large number of migrant laborers and traders.
According to local media accounts, the fire started on the fourth floor of the five-story building.
According to Dubai Civil Defence, it was caused by a failure to comply with building security and safety rules. The fire was initially reported to the Dubai Civil Defence Operations Room at 12:35 p.m. yesterday (Saturday). On Saturday, firefighters arrived around 12:41 p.m. local time (09:41 p.m. GMT).
The Al-Ras neighborhood is close to the city’s gold and spice markets, major tourist destinations.
According to the UAE publication The National, an inquiry into the tragic fire is underway.
Teams from the Port Saeed and Hamriyah fire stations assisted in the firefighting efforts. At 2:42 p.m., the fire was controlled, and cooling procedures were initiated.
The huge fire started in an apartment on the fourth story of the residential structure. The site has been turned over to the appropriate authorities for further action.
It said it was important that “residential and commercial building owners and residents” fully comply “with security and safety requirements and guidelines to avoid accidents and protect people’s lives”.
Naseer Vatanappally, an Indian social worker who was at the Dubai Police mortuary to help identify the victims on Saturday night, said he was coordinating with Dubai Police, the Indian Consulate in Dubai, other diplomatic missions, and friends and relatives of the deceased.
“So far, we have managed to identify 4 Indians, including a couple from Kerala and two men from Tamil Nadu who worked at the building, 3 Pakistani cousins, and a Nigerian woman,” he said at the time of publication.
To minimise accidents and save lives, the General Directorate of Civil Defence in Dubai emphasized the necessity of residential and commercial building owners and residents fully complying with security and safety regulations and rules.
