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Workers safe as firefighters tame blaze

In a major fire incident, a 47-storey building under construction located in Tecom investments B site near Dubai Internet City caught fire, spreading panic among workers and causing huge losses.

No causalities were reported in the fire and no one was injured. The cause of fire is yet to be determined, Brigadier General Rashid Thani Rashid Al Matrooshi, Director General of Dubai Civil Defense told Khaleej Times.

Ambulances, fire fighters and police rushed to the spot soon after the fire was reported. Paramedics were seen on the spot waiting to handle any emergency situation. Matrooshi said that the fire broke out at about 2 pm and that Civil Defense Officials had managed to reach the spot with six minutes.

'Our initial concern was to ensure that nobody was trapped in the building. It was not easy for the firefighters to reach the spot,' Matrooshi said. 'We will investigate the cause of the fire and whether all the safety regulations have been adhered to,' said Matrooshi adding that the firefighting operation could take for hours.

Labourers working in the building said they were lucky as most of them were out from the building for lunch when the fire erupted.

f4'Initially we feared that some of our colleagues were trapped inside. We just saw thick black smoke billowing from the building and everybody was panicking,' said Jawahar Alam, a worker.

Rasool Al Salam, who was sleeping in the 24th floor of the same building spoke of his fears. 'It was a very scary moment of my life. I rushed down and ran out from the building.'

Meanwhile, Tecom officials said they would initiate an investigation into the accident.

Mohammed Al Mulla, Executive Director for Marketing and Corporate Affairs of Dubai Media City said that the Tecom officials were informed about the blaze soon after it erupted.

'Our concern was about causality. Tecom will initiate an investigation soon,' said Mulla. Insurance experts said that the losses could be in the tune of several millions.