One killed, five injured in hotel apartment blaze

Dubai: A Chinese man was killed and five others were injured in a hotel apartment in Naif that was illegally partitioned with wooden structures which helped fuel the blaze.

The blaze broke out in the first floor of a four-storey building at 4.45am, said Major Ali Al Mutawa, Director of Operations Room of Civil Defence.

Screams

A police patrol unit monitoring the area heard screams of residents coming from a building with flames rising from one of the apartments on the first floor.

Civil Defence units evacuated residents using mobile ladders attached to the windows and balconies, he said, while adding that the fire was controlled by the units.

Around 60 per cent of the apartment was damaged without reaching adjacent apartments, he said.

"The apartment was illegally partitioned, which resulted in fuelling the flames. The wooden structures in the overcrowded apartment put the residents at serious risk," he said while adding that the cause of fire is still under investigation.

Five other Chinese men sustained severe to moderate injuries and were transferred to Rashid Hospital for treatment, said Maj Al Mutawa.

Preliminary investigations rule out criminal intent behind the fire, said forensic expert Mohammad Ahmad Mohammad.