UAE | Crime
Death toll in Naif blaze rises, police say
Tuesday's fire in the Naif area caused eleven fatalities and six injuries, Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police's Deputy Commandant General told Gulf News.
- By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Wafa Issa and Syed Bilal Shafi, Staff Reporters
- Published: 17:55 August 26, 2008
Dubai: Tuesday's fire in the Naif area caused eleven fatalities and six injuries, Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police's Deputy Commandant General told Gulf News.
The fire broke out at 5am on Tuesday in a bachelor accommodation near the California Hotel.
Al Mazeina also revealed that two of the lease holders of the villa have been arrested. He added that police were looking for anyone who could give any information that could help the investigation.
The house where the fire broke out had partitions and the police are waiting for a Dubai Municipality report to confirm whether the partitions were authorised, he said.
“There were also additional electricity meters installed in the hose. We need to check if they were authorised,'' he said.
Al Mazeina said he did not know the exact number of residents in the villa but said there were several rooms which housed between 20 and 25 people. Makeshift kitchens were set up outside the rooms “and we suspect that the fire could have started while someone was cooking''.
''We can't however make any conclusions until we see the necessary reports,'' said Al Mazeina.
Earlier, Brigadier Abdul Jalil Mahdi, Deputy Director of Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for Preventative Security, told Gulf News that the fire claimed seven lives and the death toll was expected to rise.
"The roof of the villa where the bachelors lived collapsed and aggravated the situation and the search is still on for more casualties.
Mahdi said several people sustained light injuries.
Witnesses who gathered around the Naif shopping area watched as police vehicles and ambulances removed the bodies.
"When I went to the shop this morning, the entire street was closed and there were policemen everywhere.
"Nobody told me what was going on, but I could see that the fire hose was being taken around my shop to put out the fire," said shopkeeper Angel Dela Cruz.
Police instructed bystanders to leave the scene in the early afternoon as officials continued their investigation.
A watchman at a nearby shop said that the area was closed until 1.30pm, and motorists were prevented from passing through.
Bachelors living in the adjacent buildings told Gulf News that they were being interrogated by police and were unable to comment.
Stale smoke could be detected among the narrow lanes filled with shops and leading to the destroyed accommodation, while dozens of shopkeepers and pedestrians looked on as bodies were placed in ambulances at 4.15pm.
The witnesses were unwilling to describe the day's events, but some said they believed that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction.
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