4 Indians among 16 dead in Dubai building fire
Dubai (PTI): Four Indians, including a couple from Kerala, were among 16 people dead after a massive fire broke out in a residential building in Dubai that also injured nine others, officials said on Sunday.
The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the building in the Al-Ras area, one of the oldest parts of Dubai, and began spreading to other areas, they said.
Sixteen people died and nine others were seriously injured, officials said.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed that four Indians were among the victims.
"The Indian victims include Rijesh Kalangadan (38) and his wife Jeshi Kandamangalath (32). The others include Gudu Saliyakoondu (49) and Imamkasim Abdul Khader (43)," Bijender Singh, Consul, Consular and Labour, at the Indian Consulate, told PTI.
"We have received their passport copies through (Naseer) Vatanappally (an Indian social worker). We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families and thank the social workers and others who have reached out with support. We are coordinating with the local authorities for the repatriation procedures," Singh added.
Quoting Naseer Vatanappally, who was at the Dubai Police mortuary, the Gulf News earlier reported that four Indians, including a couple from Kerala, have been identified among the victims.
Two men from Tamil Nadu who worked at the building, 3 Pakistani cousins and a Nigerian woman have also been identified.
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 in 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 3pm, the civil defence team rescued the occupants on the third floor by cranes.
Eyewitnesses said they saw flames billowing out of the building, according to the Khaleej Times newspaper.
Videos shared on social media show thick black smoke and flames leaping out of an apartment window, the report said.
The Dubai Civil Defence has attributed the fire to the lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements.
The focus is now on identifying the remaining bodies, providing medical attention to the wounded, and rehabilitating survivors who find themselves locked out of the now-sealed building.
Authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to provide a detailed report on the cause of the fire, the Dubai Civil Defence added.
Dubai in recent years has seen a surge of high-rise fires due to flammable siding material.
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Amitabh Bachchan returns to X to praise 'Operation Sindoor', says Pahalgam attack won't be forgotten
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI): Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on early Sunday morning made his social media comeback with a lengthy post on 'Operation Sindoor' by the Indian armed forces in retaliation of the Pahalgam terror attack, after sharing a series of blank posts on his X page and personal blog for weeks.
The veteran actor had not made any post on X since April 22, hours before terrorists attacked Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir killing 26 people.
Bachchan, 82, expressed sadness over the massacre of innocent civilians in Pahalgam.
In his post, he also lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for launching 'Operation Sindoor' which targeted nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur which is a major base of Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.
"The Pahalgam attack where they killed 26 innocent tourists .. all with their families enjoying a holiday , mercilessly, at one spot - even on a couple just married three days ago, who had come for their Honeymoon .. will never be forgotten .. SO . the Government , who have been telling the neighbouring authorities to stop terrorist camps and activities in our Country , has never been heeded ..
"Hence Modi and the Government decided to respond to the terrorist base camps in the neighbours and launched a military procedure .. the results of which are well known .. 9 of their terrorist camps and outfits were destroyed .. militarily .. (sic)" the actor wrote on X.
Bachchan concluded his post with the lines from his father, Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan's popular poem "Agneepath", exhorting the armed forces.
The actor said he chose to select words from the poem "as an inspiration and a demand to the Army and all Indians .. to continue the fight !! Against the injustice done to us and in particular the innocent .. !!!
"Tu na thamega kabhi, tu na mudega kabhi, tu na jhukega kabhi, kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath, agneepath, agneepath, agneepath," he wrote.
Hours after India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding on stopping military actions, the arrangement came under severe pressure with New Delhi blaming Islamabad for breaching it.
In a media briefing close to midnight, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri called upon Pakistan to take "appropriate steps" to address these violations and deal with the situation with "seriousness and responsibility".
This came around five hours after the foreign secretary announced that India and Pakistan had reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea with immediate effect.
However, there was no ceasefire violation reported in Kashmir valley overnight, with no overnight cross-border shelling or drone activity reported from anywhere across the Jammu region, officials said on Sunday.
T 5375 -
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) May 10, 2025
छुट्टियाँ मानते हुए, उस राक्षस ने, निर्दोष पति पत्नी को बाहर खींच कर, पति को नग्न कर, उसके धर्म की पूर्ति करने के बाद , उसे जब गोली मारने लगा, तो पत्नी ने, घुटने पे गिर कर, रो रो अनुरोध करने के बाद भी, की उसके पति को न मारो ; उसके पति को उस बुज़दिल राक्षस ने, बेहद…
