According to a media report on Sunday (16), a residential building fire in Dubai has resulted in the death of at least 16 people, including four individuals of Indian origin, and among them, a couple from Kerala, identified by an Indian social worker Naseer Vatanappally at the Dubai Police mortuary.
The incident, which also caused injuries to nine people, was reported to the Dubai Civil Defence Operations Room at 12:35 pm on Saturday. As per Gulf News, the fire started on the fourth floor of the building located in Dubai's old neighbourhood of Al Ras and rapidly spread to other areas.
Dubai Civil Defence teams, including Port Saeed and Hamriyah Fire Stations, were called to the scene of a building fire.
Evacuation of residents was carried out by the teams, and the blaze was extinguished by 2:42 pm (local time).
“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,” Vatanappally said.
According to the report, Vatanappally was working in collaboration with Dubai Police, the Indian Consulate in Dubai, various diplomatic missions, and acquaintances of the deceased.
The Dubai Civil Defence spokesperson revealed that initial findings indicate the building did not meet necessary safety standards.
The authorities have initiated a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire and provide a comprehensive report.
With inputs from PTI
Efforts are underway to modernise voting systems
The exit poll showed a lead for Labour in the July general election, which may have put off some voters from casting their ballots
Rokey as Minty with Tianah Hodding as Clover during Animal Farm rehearsals
Hadiqa Kiani
Cover of her EP
Kiani with Asjad Nazir