DUBAI // A suspected gas leak caused the emergency evacuation of visitors and staff from the Reel Cinemas wing of Dubai Mall last night.
Hundreds of people were removed from the cinema and shops in the surrounding area at 7.45pm but were allowed to return to the mall within 20 minutes after Dubai Civil Defence declared it safe.
The scare was caused by a suspicious smell coming from the air-conditioning units of the cinema. Panic erupted when people began coughing and inside and around the cinema's lobby area.
"I had just finished watching John Carter and started coming down, when I heard lots of people screaming," said Chris, who did not wish to give his surname.
"There was a strong smell of acidic gas, like from a chemistry lab. There was a lot of panic. The doors [leading from the cinema area to the rest of the mall] closed and people were running into the car parks. There were no announcements or clear directions."
He said he was upset that the mall management had done little to calm fears.
A mall security said people were "breathless" and complained of nausea. "We don't know what the problem was," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We had to ask people to leave as there was some bad odour coming from somewhere"
It is not yet known what caused the smell.
Emaar, which manages the mall, said in a statement: "Visitors to the cinema this evening were asked to temporarily leave as a precautionary measure after an unusual odour was reported, which was found to be harmless. The concerned authorities are investigating the incident and the cinemas have resumed normal operations.”
pkannan@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)