A fire in a residential building in Dubai killed 16 people including three Pakistanis and injured nine others in the wealthy Gulf emirate, local media reported.
The fire broke out at midday Saturday on the fourth floor of the building in the Al-Ras neighbourhood in the old part of the city, and it took the firefighters around two hours to control it.
According to the Dubai Civil Defence Operations Room, it received the first notification about the fire at 12:35 pm, and a team reached the site within six minutes to start evacuation and firefighting operations. Teams from the Port Saeed and Hamriyah fire stations provided backup to the operations.
The civil defence force, in a statement quoted by UAE media, said that preliminary investigations showed the fire was caused by "a lack of compliance with building safety and security requirements".
The authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to provide a detailed report on the causes of the accident.
Social media was flooded with videos showing thick black smoke and flames leaping out of an apartment window as multiple fire engines and first responders reached the area. An eyewitness reported hearing a loud bang before the flames started.
The spokesperson for the Dubai Civil Defence expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and said that urgent medical aid was provided to the injured.
Social worker Naseer Vadanappilly told local media that some bodies have been identified by relatives, and at least three people are in the hospital with stable conditions.
The Dubai Civil Defence has urged building owners and residents to comply with safety and security requirements to prevent such accidents in the future.
Victims being identified
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.
Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, has a population of around 3.3 million, of whom almost 90 percent are foreigners.
The city has experienced spectacular fires in the past, causing extensive damage but few casualties.
In 2017, the authorities announced the adoption of stricter building regulations to minimise the risk of fire, attributed mainly to flammable materials used in the exterior cladding of buildings.