The husband of a Filipina victim of a fire at a residential block in Sharjah is among those fighting for life in intensive care after the blaze on Thursday night.
Ten other Filipinos were among those receiving hospital care after the fire broke out at the 38-storey building in Al Nahda area, claiming five lives and forcing 156 to be rehomed.
Residents from the 750 apartments were returning to their homes on Saturday, to assess damage as maintenance engineers restored water and power to the floors affected.
Some told harrowing accounts of their ordeal in trying to evacuate the building as fire alarms rang out, but others praised heroes who helped women and children to safety.
Amazon worker Nejed Nujumuddin took a call from his wife as he returned home to say their building was on fire.
“I told her to get out as soon as possible, and I jumped in a taxi and got there as soon as I could,” he said.
“When I called her I could hear the fire alarm in the background, so it was very intense.
“Because of the smoke, she couldn't see the way, but she just wanted to come out, so she just blindly felt her way down.
“By the time I got there, they were all outside and a nice family from a nearby building had offered food, water and somewhere to stay for the night.
“I’ve been back in to the apartment – it is fine, but the corridor has been badly damaged by smoke.
“Just a week ago, I told my wife if she heard an alarm or something like that, she must take extra care and know how to get out safely. Thankfully, she did.”
Weeks of repairs
The Indian was told it would take three weeks before they would be able to return.
He came like an angel. I have not managed to find him but I owe him so much
Noufal Faziludeen,
evacuated resident
Mr Nujumuddin’s friend, a neighbour on the 17th floor, said it took his wife and young child 10 minutes to escape, thanks to a delivery driver who went into the building to help evacuate those inside.
“My wife and I got really scared as she was panicking when I was speaking to her on the phone – I got home as fast as I could,” Noufal Faziludeen, who also works for Amazon.
“She came from the 17th floor with my child and it was really the first time she had experienced anything like this so she was very scared.
“A delivery boy came to the rescue when she was coming down and she met him on the stairs.
“He took my child, who is only one and a half. He helped them both out of the building.
“He came like an angel. I have not managed to find him but I owe him so much.”
The high rise Gulf Pearl Tower block next to the Al Madina Hypermarket has 33 residential floors each with eight apartments, and five parking levels.
Contracted residents have been rehomed in nearby hotels, while those living in sub-let apartments have had to find their own temporary accommodation while repairs are completed.
The building is segregated into three blocks, A, B and C.
Rooftop escape
Geoffrey, a football coach from Ghana, was at home in the adjacent block to where the fire broke out just after 10pm and is now staying at a nearby hotel.
“I was in the building next door and could see the fire in Block B,” he said.
“I was stuck there with five or six other people on the 20th floor and we were told to get to the roof. One of those people is in hospital now.
“We had to wait for the smoke to clear before we could go anywhere.
“When we looked outside we could see bodies on the ground, but we knew the emergency crew was coming.”
Maj Gen Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, commander in chief of Sharjah Police, said 44 people had been injured in the fire, with 17 in hospital.
A statement from the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai offered support for those involved.
“After the tragic loss of one Filipina compatriot we are closely monitoring the condition of her husband, who is currently in intensive care following a devastating fire in Sharjah's Al Nadha area.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and pray for the swift recovery of her husband, as well as the other 10 injured Filipinos who are receiving medical attention.
“The consulate is coordinating with local authorities and community leaders to ensure all affected Filipinos receive the support they need during this difficult time.”
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
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- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
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Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
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Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
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July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
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Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
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A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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