Fire victims will have ID cards replaced for free
Identity body to pay for those affected by tower blaze in Sharjah
Abu Dhabi: Te Emirates Identity Authority will bear the expense of replacing ID cards burned in the Al Baker residential tower fire in Sharjah that rendered many people homeless.
The authority has called on the families involved to visit its offices either in Sharjah or Ajman to get substitute cards. It said the assistance comes following a directive from Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to offer help to the fire victims.
Help came swiftly to the families, many of whom lost all their belongings in the fire and others lost their life savings.
Up to Dh2.5 million will be distributed to the 51 displaced families.
Charity organisations have pitched in to help provide temporary accommodation.
The landlord of the building has offered alternative homes for the families but they say the flats are much smaller than those that were destroyed.
Compensation
A police officer earlier told Gulf News that reports had been sent to the Department of Housing about the number of flats that were completely gutted in the fire that broke out in the 25-storey tower on January 24.
A senior official at the Department of Housing said several families have tried to receive government compensation for losing their cars in the fire, but such requests were not considered valid.
