Indian couple who died in Dubai apartment building fire were preparing iftar for neighbours
Dubai (PTI): An Indian couple who died in a major fire at an apartment in Dubai, which killed 16 people, were preparing an iftar meal for their neighbours, a media report has said.
Rijesh Kalangadan, 38, and his wife Jeshi Kandamangalath, 32, both from Kerala, were preparing Vishusadhya, a Hindu harvest festival meal, for their Muslim neighbours to end their fast on Saturday evening.
At least 16 were killed and nine others were injured in the blaze in the Al Ras area, which Dubai Civil Defence attributed to a lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements.
Kalangadan was a business development manager with a travel and tourism company while Kandamangalath was a school teacher.
The couple were celebrating Vishu on Saturday. They were making Vishusadhya, a vegetarian festival feast served on a banana leaf, and had invited their Muslim neighbours, a group of bachelors from Kerala, for iftar, the Gulf News reported.
Riyas Kaikambam, who lived with seven roommates in apartment number 409, said the couple who lived in 406 adjacent to flat 405 where the fire started was very friendly.
The couple used to invite Kaikambam and his roommates during their festivals.
"They had invited us during Onam and Vishu lunches earlier also. This time, they told us to come for iftar as it is Ramzan."
Kaikambam said he last saw the couple outside their apartment. "I could see the teacher was crying," he recalled, adding that the couple went back into their studio flat.
"There was no response to calls later. I could see Rijesh's last seen status on WhatsApp at 12.35 pm. I just can't believe the man who helped me book my flight ticket for Sunday, the man who invited me for iftar, is gone (along with his wife)."
His roommate Suhail Kopa, who was not home during the fire, said: "We are so devastated about losing our neighbours. They are people whom we used to meet and greet every day. It is heartbreaking to think of going to live in the same place where we lost 16 neighbours, some of whom were close to us."
The Dubai Civil Defence Operations Room was notified about the fire at 12.35 pm on Saturday, officials said.
A team from the Dubai Civil Defence headquarters arrived at the site of the blaze and began evacuating residents from the building.
Teams from the Port Saeed Fire Station and the Hamriyah Fire Station were also summoned.
The flames were doused by 2:42 pm (local time), the paper said.
Around 3 pm, the civil defence team rescued the occupants on the third floor by cranes.
According to the Khaleej Times newspaper, eyewitnesses said they saw flames billowing out of the building.
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Nitish Kumar skips Niti Aayog meeting
Patna (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not attend the Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, officials said.
The state was represented at the meeting by deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, they said.
The cause for Kumar's absence from the crucial meeting could not be known immediately.
"This is not the first time that the CM is not attending the Nitish Aayog meeting. The CM did not attend the meeting earlier as well, and Bihar was represented by the then deputy CM. This time also both the Dy CMs went to attend the meeting," JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told PTI.
"Besides, there are four Union ministers from Bihar who are members of the Aayog and they will be present in the meeting. There is nothing to say on this," he added.
The ninth governing council meeting of the Aayog discussed the 'Vikshit Bharat@2047' document with an aim to make India a developed nation.
The council, the apex body of Niti Aayog, includes all CMs, Lt Governors of Union territories and several Union ministers. PM Modi is the chairman of Niti Aayog.
