Tragedy strikes Dubai: Massive fire engulfs residential building; 16 dead, 9 injured

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: On Saturday, April 15, 2023, a residential building in Dubai, Al-Ras, caught a massive fire and caused heavy damage to the building and killed 16 (sixteen) people and badly injured 9 (nine) others. The fire broke out suddenly during the afternoon in the country, leaving everyone in shock and a lifetime of sorrow for the families of demise.

As per the recent updates published by the Gulf Emirates Government, during midday, the fourth floor of the Al-Ras residential building started burning with a massive fire in the old part of the city.

The authorities have also confirmed that the people around the area in the neighbourhood noticed a big cloud of smoke, following which the emergency services approached the site and took the matter into their hands.

Meanwhile, the investigation authorities briefly toured the site and noted that a lack of safety and security requirements in compliance with the building potentially caused the fire.

The civil defence forces have emphasized that the security arrangements were not up to the mark in the building, which could be the possible reason behind the fire outbreak.

As soon as the news got out to the public, the emergency response teams were in the blaze and approached the site within the next six minutes of the complaint. The firefighter’s department began to handle the situation by taking control of the fire.

As per the sources, the identities of the killed and injured were not revealed officially, but as per the local reports, among the dead, there were four Indians, one Cameroonian, three Pakistanis, one West African and one Sudanese.

The building has been sealed by the Dubai Police Department with yellow tape and has been announced as a restricted area for the people.

Moreover, Abinkeng Nicoline, a Cameroonian national, was among the dead. Her brother came forward with her story and revealed that she was to become a chef and planning to move to Malta for a better future.

In addition, while grieving for his sister’s untimely and sudden death, Nicoline’s brother noted that fate had other plans for his sister, which is disheartening for the whole family. He added that he had spoken with her sister a few hours ago about the devastating incident over the phone, where she said she was going off to sleep.