Move FM Global News

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Authorities have said that a fire killed at least 16 people and injured another nine, after it surged through an apartment building in the Al Murar area of the historic Deira neighborhood of Dubai, UAE, this weekend.

The apartment was believed to have been shared by many individuals, a common practice for migrant laborers. But the tight quarters, often subdivided by makeshift plywood or drywall barriers, or even shower curtains, can pose a fire risk.

The Dubai Civil Defense, in a message issued by the city-state’s media office, placed the death toll at 16.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Naseer Vatanappally, a Dubai-based businessman who volunteers with the Indian Consulate on repatriation issues, said the dead were six Sudanese, four Indians, three Pakistanis, a Cameroonian, an Egyptian and a Jordanian, adding that police were working to process paperwork to send their remains back to their home countries.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said online that he was “very sad” over the deaths of the three Pakistanis.

A Dubai Civil Defense statement described the fire as starting on the fourth floor, though evidence of the fire could be seen on the fifth floor, where glass appeared to have been blown out by the blaze.

“Preliminary investigations showed that lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements caused the fire,” the statement said.

Citing the ongoing police investigation, the building’s management has not responded to requests for comment, and it was not immediately clear who owned the building.

In recent years, Dubai has witnessed a series of high-rise fires caused by the use of flammable building materials.