{"id":5823,"date":"2023-04-16T17:07:15","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T17:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5823"},"modified":"2023-04-16T17:09:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T17:09:41","slug":"fire-in-dubai-kills-16-injures-9-in-apartment-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/magazine\/climate\/natural-disaster-and-tragedies\/fire-in-dubai-kills-16-injures-9-in-apartment-building\/2023\/04\/16\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire in Dubai kills 16, injures 9 in apartment building"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUBAI,<\/span> United<\/span> Arab<\/span> Emirates<\/span> (AP)<\/span> —<\/span> At<\/span> least<\/span> 16<\/span> people<\/span> were<\/span> killed<\/span> and<\/span> nine<\/span> injured<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> fire<\/span> that<\/span> broke<\/span> out<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> apartment<\/span> complex<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> Arab<\/span> Emirates’<\/span> old<\/span> district<\/span> of<\/span> Dubai,<\/span> officials<\/span> said<\/span> Sunday.<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> fire<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Al<\/span> Mural<\/span> neighborhood<\/span> of<\/span> Dubai’s<\/span> historic<\/span> Deira<\/span> district<\/span> hit<\/span> an<\/span> apartment<\/span> believed<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> shared<\/span> by<\/span> several<\/span> people.<\/span> This<\/span> is<\/span> known<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> common<\/span> practice<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> workers<\/span> who<\/span> sustain<\/span> the<\/span> economy<\/span> of<\/span> this<\/span> city-state<\/span> known<\/span> for<\/span> its<\/span> towering<\/span> skyscrapers.<\/span> Cramped<\/span> compartments<\/span> separated<\/span> by<\/span> improvised<\/span> barriers<\/span> can<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> great<\/span> danger<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> event<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> fire.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Dubai<\/span> Civil<\/span> Defense<\/span> Statement,<\/span> issued<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> city-state’s<\/span> news<\/span> agency,<\/span> revealed<\/span> the<\/span> death<\/span> toll.<\/span> Officials<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> respond<\/span> to<\/span> questions<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Associated<\/span> Press.<\/span> Nasir<\/span> Bhattanapally,<\/span> a<\/span> Dubai-based<\/span> businessman<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> volunteered<\/span> on<\/span> repatriation<\/span> issues<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> Indian<\/span> consulate,<\/span> said<\/span> AP<\/span> authorities<\/span> have<\/span> listed<\/span> the<\/span> dead<\/span> as<\/span> six<\/span> Sudanese,<\/span> four<\/span> Indians,<\/span> three<\/span> Pakistanis<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> Cameroonian.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> had<\/span> identified<\/span> one,<\/span> one<\/span> Egyptian<\/span> and<\/span> one<\/span> Jordanian.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> police<\/span> were<\/span> working<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> paperwork<\/span> to<\/span> send<\/span> the<\/span> body<\/span> back<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> home<\/span> country.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Sunday,<\/span> traces<\/span> of<\/span> char<\/span> were<\/span> seen<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> five-story<\/span> apartment,<\/span> which<\/span> houses<\/span> a<\/span> grocery<\/span> store,<\/span> smokehouse<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> stores<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> floor.<\/span> Police<\/span> yellow<\/span> crime<\/span> scene<\/span> tape<\/span> sealed<\/span> off<\/span> the<\/span> building,<\/span> which<\/span> was<\/span> also<\/span> heavily<\/span> influenced<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> presence.<\/span> Huge<\/span> long-haul<\/span> Emirates<\/span> Airbus<\/span> A380s<\/span> and<\/span> Boeing<\/span> 777s<\/span> flew<\/span> over<\/span> an<\/span> area<\/span> just<\/span> 3<\/span> kilometers<\/span> (2<\/span> miles)<\/span> from<\/span> Dubai<\/span> International<\/span> Airport<\/span> along<\/span> the<\/span> flight<\/span> path.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The<\/span> man<\/span> said<\/span> neighbors<\/span> believed<\/span> people<\/span> were<\/span> sleeping<\/span> inside<\/span> their<\/span> homes<\/span> during<\/span> Ramadan,<\/span> the<\/span> typical<\/span> month<\/span> of<\/span> Muslim<\/span> holy<\/span> Ramadan<\/span> when<\/span> believers<\/span> refrain<\/span> from<\/span> eating<\/span> and<\/span> drinking<\/span> from<\/span> sunrise<\/span> to<\/span> sunset.<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> Dubai<\/span> police<\/span> officer<\/span> stopped<\/span> an<\/span> AP<\/span> journalist<\/span> from<\/span> speaking<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> man<\/span> and<\/span> asked<\/span> the<\/span> reporter<\/span> to<\/span> leave<\/span> the<\/span> area<\/span> before<\/span> telling<\/span> him<\/span> his<\/span> name.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> statement<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Dubai<\/span> Civil<\/span> Defense<\/span> Authority<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> fire<\/span> started<\/span> on<\/span> his<\/span> fourth<\/span> floor.<\/span> However,<\/span> burn<\/span> marks<\/span> were<\/span> seen<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> fifth<\/span> floor<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> flames<\/span> appeared<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> blown<\/span> the<\/span> glass.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Following<\/span> a<\/span> preliminary<\/span> investigation,<\/span> we<\/span> determined<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> cause<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> fire<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> failure<\/span> to<\/span> comply<\/span> with<\/span> building<\/span> safety<\/span> requirements,”<\/span> the<\/span> statement<\/span> said.<\/span> “Relevant<\/span> authorities<\/span> are<\/span> conducting<\/span> a<\/span> full<\/span> investigation<\/span> to<\/span> provide<\/span> a<\/span> detailed<\/span> report<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> cause<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> fire.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> description<\/span> was<\/span> not<\/span> detailed.<\/span> Building<\/span> management<\/span> declined<\/span> to<\/span> answer<\/span> questions<\/span> when<\/span> contacted<\/span> by<\/span> AP,<\/span> citing<\/span> an<\/span> ongoing<\/span> police<\/span> investigation.<\/span> The<\/span> building’s<\/span> owner<\/span> was<\/span> initially<\/span> unknown.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> Dubai<\/span> has<\/span> seen<\/span> a<\/span> spate<\/span> of<\/span> high-rise<\/span> building<\/span> fires<\/span> caused<\/span> by<\/span> combustible<\/span> exterior<\/span> materials.<\/span> However,<\/span> other<\/span> fires<\/span> can<\/span> occur<\/span> in<\/span> warehouses<\/span> and<\/span> smaller<\/span> buildings,<\/span> especially<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> summer<\/span> when<\/span> temperatures<\/span> exceed<\/span> 45<\/span> degrees<\/span> Celsius<\/span> (113<\/span> degrees<\/span> Fahrenheit).<\/span> High<\/span> winds<\/span> hit<\/span> a<\/span> high<\/span> of<\/span> 28<\/span> degrees<\/span> Celsius<\/span> (82<\/span> degrees<\/span> Fahrenheit)<\/span> in<\/span> Dubai<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Illegal<\/span> subdivisions<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> a<\/span> problem<\/span> in<\/span> Dubai<\/span> for<\/span> decades,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> problem<\/span> is<\/span> exacerbated<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> city-state<\/span> experiences<\/span> a<\/span> real<\/span> estate<\/span> boom<\/span> and<\/span> economic<\/span> growth<\/span> as<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> today.<\/span> Authorities<\/span> have<\/span> cracked<\/span> down<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> past,<\/span> but<\/span> landlords<\/span> continue<\/span> to<\/span> offer<\/span> separate<\/span> housing<\/span> and<\/span> workers<\/span> in<\/span> Africa,<\/span> Asia<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Middle<\/span> East<\/span> are<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> save<\/span> all<\/span> their<\/span> money<\/span> to<\/span> send<\/span> them<\/span> home.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — At least 16 people were killed and nine injured in a fire that broke out in an apartment complex in the United Arab Emirates’ old district of Dubai, officials said Sunday. . A fire on Saturday in the Al Mural neighborhood of Dubai’s historic Deira district hit an apartment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[1034,562],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/FRE.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5823"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5825,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5823\/revisions\/5825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}