ABU DHABI // Three people were killed and eight injured in an apartment fire believed to have started in the kitchen of a third-floor flat yesterday.
The blaze broke out in the 10-floor residential building near the junction of Airport Road and 13th Street. All of the victims were Asian.
Emergency services were called to the scene about 4.20pm and at least three fire engines, police vehicles and an ambulance arrived.
A cordon was quickly set up around the building and pedestrians were moved away by police.
Iyad, a passer-by, said he saw flames coming from one of the windows on the third floor.
The structure's occupants left their flats but many had fled to the roof and were trapped there while Civil Defence officials cleared the building.
Emergency personnel brought the fire under control within two hours but the third floor of the building was heavily damaged.
Arif Hussain, from the ambulance service, said he believed it was mainly a working men's building and "many of the people inside were sleeping at the time".
"We think it was started in the kitchen area by a cooking appliance, but we cannot be sure exactly yet," Mr Hussain said.
Capt Abdullah Al Tamimi, chief of the customer service and public relations section at Abu Dhabi Civil Defence, said the firefighters' quick response helped to reduce the damage.
Capt Al Tamimi said their efforts had stopped the fire from moving to other floors and neighbouring buildings.
ksinclair@thenational.ae
Three die and eight injured in Abu Dhabi tower block blaze
After fleeing the flames by heading to the roof many occupants were trapped on top of the 10-floor building, near the junction of Airport Road and 13th Street.
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