UAE | Emergencies
Compensation will vary for Sharjah tower fire victims
51 families worst affected by blaze will get immediate government aid
- By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 10, 2012
- Image Credit: Mahdi Shirazi/Gulf News reader and Javed Nawab/Gulf News
- Left: Flames engulf Al Baker Tower 4 in Sharjah’s Al Taawun area in the early hours on Wednesday.
Right: The burnt facade of the building. Some expatriate families have lost their life savings in the fire.
Sharjah: Up to Dh2.5 million is expected to be distributed among 51 families as government compensation for the recent Al Baker Tower fire in Sharjah.
The deadline to make a claim for the Dh50,000 compensation announced to each tenant by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, ended yesterday. The tenants are expected to receive the funds by late next week.
"We coordinated with Sharjah Police and recorded that 51 families have lost everything in the fire. The affected families who lived in the rear of the building will receive the full amount of compensation, but families who lived at the front only lost between 10-30 per cent, so they will not be entitled to the aid," Abdullah Bin Khadim, Director of Sharjah Charity, told Gulf News.
"There are families that lost everything. They lost their clothes, their furniture, their savings, and do not have anything to live on. These are the families that we are focusing on and will receive immediate government aid. If there are families that lived in the front façade and lost everything, we will make an exception. But so far, these are the number of families that will receive aid," Bin Khadim pointed out.
Report
An official at Buheira Police station explained that Sharjah Police were responsible for writing the police report, which includes the number of flats that were completely gutted that broke out at a 25-storey residential tower on January 24.
"We reported the number of flats that were completely burnt and forwarded the list to the Housing Department. It is out of our hands now, and Sharjah Court is now responsible for the case," noted the official.
As many as 135 families were left homeless, but less than half have received governmental assistance.
A senior official at the Department of Housing in Sharjah yesterday explained that several families have tried to receive governmental compensation for losing their cars in the fire, but such requests were not valid.
"We are concentrating our efforts on families who lost their whole lives' possessions in the fire, and are making sure that they have accommodation and are not sleeping in their cars," said the housing official.
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