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Four hurt in roof collapse

AJMAN — It was a providential escape for four Asian workers when the roof of the house they were residing in suddenly caved in. The roof crumbled and split, and chunks of cement blocks gave way and fell on the residents.

All the four Asians who were inside the room at the time of collapse were seriously injured.

The four were having their afternoon rest on Wednesday when a cracking sound woke them up; and before they could react, the roof was on them. They were trapped even as they screamed in pain for help.

The Civil Defence personnel who were quick to arrive at the scene managed to pull the trapped four from the debris. The victims were then placed in an ambulance and rushed to Khalifa Hospital by the Ajman Police.

Ali Alwan, Deputy Police Chief, said that as soon as the operations room received the call about the roof collapse, a team of police and civil defence officers rushed to the spot where the victims were almost buried in the debris.

He said the officers immediately set about clearing the debris to rescue the Asians trapped inside, who were crying out for help.

A Civil Defence Officer said that the four victims had got the house at a low rent. The house owner, he said, had not looked after the maintenance of the house, which is very old and not fit for occupation.

Source in the Khalifa Emergency Section told Khaleej Times that when the victims were brought to the hospital by ambulance, two of them were unconscious while the other two were screaming in pain.

"Their condition is now stable," the source said.