Satoshi Nakayama, an oil company executive from Japan, was deep in talks with Abu Dhabi colleagues in a conference room at Le Royal Meridien hotel yesterday when he heard the alarm.
Staff clad in yellow blazers carrying walkie talkies burst in, explaining fire had broken out in the kitchen and ordering the group to leave the hotel.
Firemen from Civil Defence moved straight through to the kitchen.
In all 500 guests and staff in the building were evacuated during what turned out to be an elaborate mock situation only a few were aware of.
The oilmen, apparently unfazed by what they thought to be a real fire, continued their discussion outside.
"It is better if they told us before about the drill, because our meeting was interrupted," said Mr Nakayama.
"We continued talking while we waited outside for around 15 minutes."
The "emergency" was actually part of an arrangement between Civil Defence and the hotel to train its 420 employees how to react in the event of a real fire.
"We are keen on enhancing the qualifications of our security officers, on how to act in case of an accident until Civil Defence arrive," said Imad Diab, the hotel's general manager.
It is important to expose hotel staff to mock fire situations, as they must act quickly in the minutes until firemen arrive, said First Lt Abdullah al Tamimi, the Civil Defence head of public relations and moral guidance.
Civil Defence does such drills with several of the capital's other large hotels.
The exercises also provide training for firemen. Guests, who were not informed of the exercise, were escorted out past various scenarios: two security officers treating someone said to be suffering from smoke inhalation, and firefighters rushing two kitchen staff, apparently injured, to hospital.
hdajani@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
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ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
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Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
