Dubai fire: Pakistani national loses brother, 2 cousins in Al Ras building blaze

The bodies were repatriated on Monday after funeral prayers were offered in Sonapur for the deceased

Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 18 Apr 2023, 3:55 PM

Last updated: Tue 18 Apr 2023, 4:03 PM

Pakistani national Mohammed Farooq has seen one of the toughest days of his life this week, losing three relatives in the blaze at a residential building in Al Ras, Dubai. While speaking to Khaleej Times, Farooq said his elder brother Bilal and his two cousins died in the blaze, killing 16 people of Asian and African nationalities.

"I got up at noon and went to Sharjah for work. When I returned, the fire had already broken out. They were sitting in their office in the building and couldn’t step out due to thick smoke. Soon their office was also filled with smoke,” said Farooq.

Sixteen people died in the blaze which was caused by the lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements as per the preliminary investigation. Among the deceased were six Sudanese, three Pakistanis, four Indians, a Cameroon national, a Jordanian and one Egyptian.

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Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday offered condolences on the death of the three people who hailed from the Dera Ghazi Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Sharif asked Pakistani missions to help the families affected by the tragedy.

“I am very sad to learn about the death of three Pakistanis in a residential building fire in Dubai. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families over the tragedy. Have directed Pakistan's Mission in the UAE to extend support to the affected families,” Sharif said in the tweet.

Farooq said the bodies of his relatives were repatriated on Monday evening after the funeral prayers were offered in Sonapur for the deceased.

Every year, Pakistani missions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi repatriate the bodies of hundreds of nationals who die in the UAE in cooperation with the national carrier Pakistan International Airline (PIA) free of cost.

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