SHARJAH // More than 200 families have been moved after a massive fire on Tuesday evening destroyed the 14-storey building where they lived.
The fire started about 5:30pm in the al Kuwait tower and more than 100 firefighters spent more than five hours putting out the blaze. Six people were injured; no one died.
"We have seen big fires here but not at any time did fire burn completely a whole tower like this," said Col Waheed al Serkal, the Sharjah Civil Defence director general. "This fire is equivalent to that of factories and industries we have handled before."
Large fires have plagued the Northern Emirates as the weather has turned hotter. Many have broken out in industrial areas, some of which are near housing developments. Five warehouses belonging to National Paints were destroyed in May in a blaze that affected residents as it spread.
The displaced families were put in three hotels at the expense of UAE Red Crescent. Almost 60 people from 21 families were sent to the Amwaj Hotel Suites, al Dhiyafa Palace Hotel and the Rayan Hotel, said Salah Salman, the public relations director at the Red Crescent branch in Sharjah.
"We gave them all the basic requirements like clothes, free meals and toiletries last night, and we are willing to host them until they can again afford their own accommodation elsewhere," he said.
The Ministry of Interior was following up on the victims to help them with any documents that were lost, he said.
Salih Eid al Shuwayheen, the Director of Charity Affairs at the Sharjah International Charitable Organisation, said they are offering the victims cash donations.
"We have so far given Dh1,500 to all those staying in hotels on Red Crescent account," he said. "We shall continue giving more money and required assistance to all the victims who come to us."
Some residents of the tower said they felt lucky to escape with their lives. Mustafa al Sewaifi, an Egyptian who teaches Arabic in Sharjah, said he was asleep when the fire broke out. Police directing the evacuation woke him up.
"I looked everywhere in the room and there was darkness," he said. "I jumped to the door and the rescue people were in the staircase calling on a loud microphone to anyone who needed assistance to move out. I screamed aloud that I was there and two rescuers appeared and helped me go down the stairs."
Mr al Sewaifi, who has been in the UAE since 1968, found his wife pleading with rescuers to go up and find him in their seventh- floor apartment. They lost all their belongings in the house and their car, which was parked outside the building, also caught fire.
Rafidah Hamza, a Sudanese woman visiting the Emirates, was in a relative's apartment on the third floor. She also heard the evacuation calls.
"All I could carry with me was my Sudan wrap," she said. "I ran barefooted from the house and remained like that for the whole evening."
Raja Ram, a resident of the tower's seventh floor, escaped the fire because he was returning home from work at the time and was sitting in a traffic jam on the Al Arouba Road. He said he learnt about the fire from a radio broadcast.
In a second incident, a fire gutted a glass warehouse in Sharjah's industrial area. The fire started about 3pm and was put out in less than an hour. No one was believed to have been injured.
ykakande@thenational.ae
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
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more from Janine di Giovanni
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Super Rugby play-offs
Quarter-finals
- Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
- Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
- Lions 23, Sharks 21
- Chiefs 17, Stormers 11
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 29
- Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
- Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
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- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
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Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The view from The National
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs: 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 60kWh battery
Transmission: Single-speed Electronic Precision Shift
Power: 204hp
Torque: 360Nm
Range: 520km (claimed)
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
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- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets