Fire in Dubai kills 16, injures 9 in apartment building

By JON GAMBRELL

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A fire swept through an apartment building in an older neighborhood of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, killing at least 16 people and injuring another nine, authorities said Sunday.

The blaze Saturday in the Al Murar area of Dubai’s historic Deira neighborhood struck an apartment believed to have been shared by multiple individuals, a common practice for laborers who power the economy in this city-state known more for its towering skyscrapers. But the tight quarters, often subdivided by makeshift barriers of plywood, drywall or shower curtains, can become a major risk in fires. 

A statement from Dubai Civil Defense issued by the city-state’s media office gave the death toll. Authorities did not answer questions from The Associated Press. 

Naseer Vatanappally, a Dubai-based businessman who volunteers with the Indian Consulate on repatriation issues, told the AP that authorities had identified the dead as six Sudanese, four Indians, three Pakistanis, a Cameroonian, an Egyptian and a Jordanian. He said police were working to process paperwork to send the remains of the dead back to their homelands.

On Sunday, char marks could be seen on the five-story apartment building, home also to a grocery store, a smoke shop and other businesses on its ground floor. Yellow police crime scene tape cordoned off the building, which also still had a heavy police presence. Massive Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s owned by the long-haul carrier Emirates roared overhead as the neighborhood sits only 3 kilometers (2 miles) from Dubai International Airport along its flight path.

(AP)