Fire in Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda Mall, no casualties

Abu Dhabi - The blaze was reported to have broken out from the third floor, where the food court is located.

Al Wahda Mall, the largest mall in Abu Dhabi, was shut down on Thursday afternoon, due to a fire incident said to have erupted from a restaurant in the mall. Hundreds of people, including shoppers and staff were quickly evacuated from the premises.
Rami Waleed, 28, an eye-witness at the scene, told Khaleej Times that the experience was rather chaotic. "You think you're having a regular day and then suddenly everything changes," he said.
The blaze was reported to have broken out from the third floor, where the food court is located. Elevators were immediately closed as people were rushing from the scene.
Waleed said that he knew the evacuation was because of a fire as he saw plenty of smoke, but still felt slightly confused.
"We couldn't really understand what's going on, everything happened so quickly. Everyone just rushed out as fast as they could. It was pretty chaotic, but I don't think anyone got injured."
The 28-year-old expat said fire engines and police immediately showed up at the scene. "It's a great relief to see services taking such quick action in frightening events like this one today," he said. "It took the civil defence a very short time to control the fire."
Police confirmed that there were no injuries and that an investigation will be launched to determine the cause of the fire. However, the shopping mall, as well as its car parking lots remained still closed.
Mohamed Jalil, who was with Waleed during the incident, said he was worried about who may have been left inside the mall during the fire. "I don't think anyone got hurt, but it was still scary, because we didn't know if anyone was still stuck inside."
Thursday's fire was not the first for Al Wahda Mall, which was built in 2005 and renovated three years ago. Two fire incidents happened at the four-level shopping centre back in December of 2013.
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com