16 die in Dubai apartment blaze in Al-Ras neighbourhood

A fire that broke out on Saturday 15 April at a residential apartment in Dubai has left 16 people dead, with another nine injured.

The fire took hold at an apartment in one of the older parts of the city, the Al-Ras area, on the fourth floor of the five storey building. Al-Ras is said to be one of the city’s most densely populated areas, home to thousands of market workers and traders.

Grieving relatives of those killed described “smoke billowing out of apartments”. The UAE’s The National reported that four Indians have been confirmed dead, as well as three Pakistanis. Other reports suggest that six Sudanese, a Cameroonian, an Egyptian and a Jordanian also died in the blaze. One person reportedly died trying to save residents inside the building.

The Dubai Civil Defence, the emergency management organisation in Dubai, is said to have told local media that the fire was caused by “a lack of compliance with building safety and security requirements”.

“A lack of compliance with building safety and security requirements” – Dubai Civil Defence

A reporter for The Washington Post noted that the apartments in the neighbourhood are regularly shared by multiple individuals, often labourers, where makeshift subdivisions which could be a fire risk are made in spaces that was originally intended for a single family.

Further investigation into the causes is underway, however, while the Civil Defence also stressed the importance of building owners and residents in “fully complying with security and safety requirements”.

In May 2020, 12 people were injured in a high-rise building fire in the city of Sharjah, just outside of Dubai.

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