DUBAI //Ilham Laullami emerged from the ruined Tamweel Tower yesterday with two bags of smoke blackened clothes - all she could recover from what remains of her home.
Her family's passports and furniture were destroyed, along with their 24th-floor flat, when the tower block was engulfed by fire early on Sunday morning.
"It's all gone, there's nothing left," said Ms Laullami, who along with her son Sarif, 6, was covered with soot after searching for their belongings.
A crowd of tenants, yet to see the condition of their own apartments, gathered around as she showed pictures of her ruined flat.
Sarif, emotionally exhausted, sat on a kerb with his head bowed.
"We were able to save some of my son's clothes, which were furthest from the fire, and a copy of the Quran, which was undamaged," she said.
"There's nothing left of the furniture. Our suitcases, where our passports were, are completely burnt. There's only a little that isn't destroyed. We have to start again from scratch."
Residents worried about destroyed ID cards received good news yesterday when Emirates ID revealed that replacement cards would be printed.
Ms Laullami was one of hundreds of residents granted access to their flats yesterday.
People gathered in the car park from early in the morning, but were only given access on a floor-by-floor basis after 1pm.
There was confusion as police ruled midway through the day that people living above the 22nd floor would need to sign a waiver at Jebel Ali police station, stating they were entering the building at their own risk.
"It's complete chaos," said Tamara Ballan, who lived on the 14th floor. "We're practically having to beg them to enter our own apartments."
Residents from Tamweel Tower and the nearby Al Seef buildings set up a stall and offered tea and biscuits to those waiting.
"We understand what everyone's going through and just wanted to help," said Rashmi Menon.
Most residents found their flats still intact. Interjeet Singh, from the 10th floor, emerged shortly after 2pm with four suitcases full of possessions - and three living tortoises.
"My friend brought them around two days before the fire broke out," Mr Singh said. "I'm just so happy they're still alive."
But those living above the 10th floor on the north facing side of the building were not so lucky. Their homes suffered significant damage.
Jim Bishop managed to salvage only passports and two bags of clothes from his 12th-floor flat.
"It's completely gone, the smoke destroyed everything," Mr Bishop said. "Even inside the drawers and cupboards, where we thought they would be protected, it was all completely rotten."
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
An official from the Civil Defence at the scene declined to comment as an investigation was under way. He did not say when it would be completed.
Dozens of residents said there were no sprinklers working in the building, fire hoses were without water and alarms weren't triggered until at least 15 minutes after the fire started.
One man, who declined to be identified, said his flat on the 10th floor was practically destroyed by smoke and water from fire hoses.
"We managed to save a few clothes, but all the furniture is gone," he said. He added the electricity in the building was still on, despite entire floors being flooded.
"I didn't really want to go in but I needed to get my stuff."
The Developer Tamweel did not respond to requests for a comment.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, the master developer of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers, commended the efforts of the emergency services after the fire and community spirit shown by residents.
A Civil Defence spokesman said police officials would initially investigate the cause of the fire.
"After they tell us why the accident happened, we will check the building to see if there is anything dangerous inside," the spokesman said. "We do this after every fire."
Firefighters from six stations arrived at 1.51am on Sunday.
"They were able to control and limit the fire at about 8.19am so that it did not spread to other buildings," the spokesman said.
No one was injured.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
The%20specs
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
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
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
