Dubai fire kills 16: 12 bodies identified in 'heartbreaking process'
Dubai fire kills 16: 12 bodies identified in ‘heartbreaking process’
Social workers, friends and family of the people who died in the building fire in Al Ras worked through the night to identify their bodies and do the necessary paperwork. “I went home at 5am but had to return because I was the central point of contact for everyone coming,” said social worker Naseer Vadanappally.
According to him, 12 out of the 16 people who died have been identified, including four Sudanese nationals, three Pakistani cousins, four Indians and one Cameroon national. “Relatives, friends and colleagues of these 12 people came through the night to identify them,” he said. “It is really a heartbreaking process.”
Among the deceased are an Indian couple.
The paperwork of the deceased residents is under various stages of processing and it will be some time before all are identified, said Naseer.
It was on Saturday afternoon that a blaze ripped through the building in Al Ras, killing sixteen and injuring nine people. The Dubai Civil Defense Operations Room was first notified about the fire at 12.35pm. A team reached the spot within six minutes and began both evacuation and firefighting operations. Teams from the Port Saeed and Hamriyah fire stations provided backup to the operations.
The fire was brought under control at 2.42pm, after which the cooling operations were started.
Preliminary investigations showed that lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements caused the fire, according to a Dubai Civil Defense spokesperson. “Relevant authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to provide a detailed report on the causes of the accident,” he said.
Eyewitnesses said they saw flames billowing out of the apartment and heard “a loud bang”. According to residents in the area, at least some shops in the building have remained shut on Sunday as investigations into the incident continue.
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source: khaleejtimes
