Latest: Tenant hails hero receptionist for leading her to safety from building blaze
Firefighters tackled a large blaze at a high-rise in Downtown Dubai in the early hours of Monday.
Footage showed flames spreading throughout the 35-floor building.
The flames were out by dawn, with a large part of the facade charred.
The building is part of a tower complex called 8 Boulevard Walk by Emaar, the developer.
My building faces Boulevard 8 and from what appeared to us, the cladding on the left side of the building was on fire from top to bottom
Bindu Rai,
a resident who lives in the area
“All residents were safely evacuated, and there were no injuries or casualties,” said Dubai Civil Defence.
“The teams arrived at the scene five minutes after the operations room was alerted of the fire at 3.11am.
“The field commander confirmed at 4.52am that the fire had been brought under control and at 6.08am, the operations were completely over and the site was handed over to the authorities concerned to take the necessary action.”
Emaar said it was helping residents impacted by the incident.
Bindu Rai, who lives in a building opposite the scene, said the fire started around 2.20am.
“My mother woke up when the fire started as her entire room was lit up,” Ms Rai said.
“My building faces Boulevard 8 and from what appeared to us, the cladding on the left side of the building was on fire from top to bottom.
“Fire had spread inside two apartments that were somewhere mid-way. For the rest of the building, it was limited to the exterior."
She said there were chunks of debris falling on the ground at one stage.
“It was brought under control by 3.45am and we could see firefighters and emergency crews at the scene," she said.
“A friend, who lives near the mosque that is across the Boulevard building, told me that the entire area has been cordoned off and people have been taken to Rove and other places.”
Residents wait to return home
Residents of the tower are still waiting to return home.
Dubai Police cordoned off the area so recovery work could take place and debris cleared from the streets below.
It is thought some apartments have smoke and water damage.
Witnesses said the fire broke out on one of the lower floors, possibly floor four, and then rapidly spread to the cladding.
Fire drills were regularly held at the tower, occupied by many families and young children - all of whom are reported to have been evacuated safely.
Most just left with the clothes they were wearing, with families taken to nearby Address, Rove and Ramada hotels.
One Russian woman, who talked to The National, was due to travel later on Monday.
She was desperately seeking information on when she would be allowed back into her apartment to retrieve her passport and clothes to catch her evening flight.
“Everything I have is inside the apartment, all I have is the clothes I am wearing,” said the woman, who did not want to give her name.
“I have had to show my airline ticket to allow me to go back into the building but I don’t know when that will be.”
At 9.30am, a busload of beauticians arrived for work at a nail salon underneath the tower, unaware the building had been evacuated.
Security staff, Dubai Civil Defence and police were on the ground to help with the recovery operation.
Residents taken to hotels
Workers in the Al Maya supermarket directly below the fire were evacuated at 2.44am, shortly after the fire. The supermarket reopened at around 8.45am.
“The fire was out within an hour,” one person from the supermarket said.
“Civil defence were here very quickly and everyone managed to get out, they were given food and bottles of water and then bused to hotels.”
One resident, who only moved into her apartment five months ago, told how she “ran for her life” after hearing the fire alarms sound.
“I was on the 12th floor so I took the stairs to get out as quickly as possible,” she said.
“There was a fire drill last Monday that was optional to take part in as an evacuation practice but I didn’t take part.
“I don’t know when I will be allowed back in.”
A housemaid who looks after families in apartments on the ninth, 19th and 34th floors said the fire alarms are tested most days.
“My madam thought it was a false alarm at first as it goes off quite often,” she said.
“She is now staying at the Ramada Hotel near The Frame.
“There are lots of children in the building but everyone got out.”
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
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Game is on BeIN Sports
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Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
More on Quran memorisation:
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Indika
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