Fire injures 2 children left home alone in Al Ain

Abu Dhabi: After a fire broke out in their home, two young Egyptian siblings were hospitalised by rising smoke.

Neither one of the children’s parents was present in the family’s Al Ain home during the time of the fire.

The incident was reported at approximately 11.47am on Thursday morning by a woman from a Gulf country who told authorities that she spotted a fire in a nearby residential building.

Mustafa Osama Kamal, 3, and his sister Mariam, 5, were found unconscious by the Civil Defence who also proceeded to put out the flames. Police reports say that Mustafa is in a critical condition while his sister is suffering from medium-level injuries.

The pair is being looked after in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Al Ain. The fire had reportedly spread to two neighbouring apartments in the building.

The children’s father was at his workplace during the incident and the mother is said to have been in a nearby grocery store and had locked the door on the brother and sister, according to police reports.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire had started in one room of the house and had spread to the door and ceiling causing the air conditioning system to burst.

Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, urged parents, guardians and caretakers to refrain from leaving their children alone in the household to avoid any such incidents from occurring. He also wished the siblings a speedy recovery.