Indian state government announces Dhs45,000 for two victims of Dubai fire

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Indian state of Tamil Nadu has announced Dhs45,000 (Rs1 million) each to the families of the two people who died in a fire in an apartment in Dubai.

Dubai officials said that four Indians died in the fire.

Tamil Nadu government said that deceased were identified as Imam Kasim, 43, and S Mohammed Rafeeq, 49 of Kallakurichi.

Chief Minister MK Stalin said, “I am deeply saddened by the incident.”

The government said that all measures are being taken to bring the bodies to Tamil Nadu through the Indian Embassy soon.

The duo rushed upstairs from the ground floor to rescue people trapped in the building in Al Ras on Saturday.

The Indian Consulate in Dubai has identified the other two Indians victims of the fire.

The consulate said that two are from the Indian state of Kerala. The deceased Keralites were a couple and have been identified as 38-year-old Rijesh, a native of Vengara in Malappuram, and his wife Jeshi, 32.

According to passport obtained by consulate, Rijesh was working with a travel and tourism company his wife was a schoolteacher. Saliyakoondu’s brother said rushed to rescue of others trapped in the building and died.

The Dubai Civil Defence spokesperson said that a fire killed 16 people and injured nine others.

Preliminary investigations showed that lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements caused the fire, the spokesperson said. Relevant authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to provide a detailed a report on the causes of the accident.

The Pakistani Press Counsellor, Shazia Siraj, told Gulf Today that the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai was in contact with the victims’ families to provide all the necessary assistance.

The Consulate said that the three were relatives and were living in the same building. They hailed from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

A resident from the neighbourhood said that the three Pakistanis were cousins.